WILLMAR -- Edin Nahun Malgar-Chavez, 21, of Willmar, pleaded guilty Monday in Kandiyohi County District Court to a host of criminal charges including felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct and aggravated forgery. He also pleaded guilty to gross misdemeanor charges for giving a court official the name or date of birth of another and for carrying or possessing a pistol without a permit and a misdemeanor charge of no proof of insurance.
Malgar-Chavez is also known as Emmanuel Velazquez Ga-rcia. District Judge Donald M. Spilseth ordered Malgar-Chavez held without bail until his sentencing on Jan. 15.
As part of a plea agreement, another felony criminal sexual conduct charge and three charges of aggravated forgery and forgery will be dismissed, as will two misdemeanors for transportation of firearms and open bottle.
The criminal sexual conduct charges, filed against Malgar-Chavez under the Garcia name, stemmed from a Willmar police investigation into him having sex with a 15-year-old girl. According to the complaint filed Sept. 13, a mother brought her daughter into the Law Enforcement Center to report that the girl had sex with a Hispanic man.
The girl told police that the man claimed to be 17, although she suspected he was older. Under the guise of going camping for the weekend, the girl and a friend stayed over at Garcia's home and she had sex with him. When interviewed, the friend confirmed the encounter.
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The charges for forgery and giving a court official the name or date of birth of another were filed in November after Malgar-Chavez was arrested on the criminal sex charges. He identified himself as Honduran to a jailer, but then told an interpreter he was Puerto Rican, according to the complaint. Local officials called in agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who interviewed Malgar-Chavez, who then identified himself as a Honduran and said his name was Edin Malgar-Chavez.
Police received employment documents from Jennie-O Turkey Store officials that were signed by the defendant using the Garcia name. A review of police and court records showed that he had been arrested for transporting an uncased firearm and open bottle in December 2006 and that he had used the Garcia name twice in District Court, appearing in April and August 2006 for misdemeanor charges.
