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In late March, the arrest of Jorge Luis López Durán in the Timbers Mobile Home Community in Orange County ended with his transfer to the Alamance County Detention Center.
According to Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood, the transfer followed protocol: López Durán allegedly assaulted three deputies during his arrest.
“If someone assaults my deputies, we send them to another jail,” Blackwood told Enlace Latino NC in a phone interview. “We don’t want even the appearance of retaliation while they’re in our custody.”
But the decision to transfer him to Alamance, a county with a long history of cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has raised concerns among members of the community in Orange County.
“In the past, we understand that the sheriff of Alamance County has been very anti immigrant. So my concern is why the sheriff Blackwood sent a Hispanic person to Alamance County and not to Durham County that is more open and welcoming to the immigrant community,” Wendy Padilla, an Orange County resident and advocate for the Latino community, told Enlace Latino NC.
The arrest of Jorge Luis López Durán
On March 27, 2025, officers from Orange County responded to a call about a man throwing rocks and bricks at mobile homes.
Upon arriving at the scene, the officers were informed by witnesses and residents that the man had stolen items from one of the homes.
After finding López Durán, 53, in a house with an open door, the officers attempted to intervene, and the individual began to assault the officers, according to authorities.
“We had an individual that was violent, tearing up the neighborhood, tearing up people’s trailers, throwing bricks at people, throwing bricks, busting windows out,” Blackwood said in a phone interview. “He attacked three of my deputies, put 2 or 3 of them in the hospital.”
As a result, López faces three felony charges for assaulting a law enforcement officer, causing serious bodily injury. Additional charges, including theft and property damage, are expected, authorities reported.
Practice of transferring detainees
Sheriff Blackwood said that the practice of transferring inmates has been in place since before his arrival at the office in 1980 and has not changed.
He said that the practice also applies in cases of conflict between co-defendants, the need for specialized medical care, or protection measures.
A resident of Orange County, who has more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement, questioned the immediate transfer of López Durán.
“Nowhere in my law enforcement experience have I seen where a sheriff’s office transports somebody immediately to another facility because their officers were assaulted,” he told Enlace Latino NC requesting anonymity for fear of workplace retaliation. “This is not common, or this is uncommon.”
He added that in his experience such transfers typically occur only in exceptional situations, such as the loss of life or when a detainee has caused serious harm to someone connected to the detention facility.
Records from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office show that, aside from López Durán’s case, there have been three other transfers in the past two years due to serious assaults on officers or security concerns within the facility.
In 2023, Derick Andre Engram-Williams, charged with shooting at an officer, was transferred to Durham County after his hospitalization.
In 2024, James Cruz, charged with first-degree murder, was transferred to Durham after a conflict with staff and other detainees. That same year, Lawan Terry, also charged with murder, was sent to Vance County due to disputes with staff and detainees at his previous facility.
Community concern: Why Alamance?
The main concern of Orange County residents centers around the destination of the transfer.
“The most concerning thing is that the sheriff has taken a stance supporting the immigrant population, but he sends a different message by sending someone who is either undocumented or potentially undocumented to a county with a staunch Republican sheriff who has openly supported the Trump administration and mass deportation,” said the law enforcement officer.
Terry Johnson, the sheriff of Alamance County, voluntarily complies with ICE detainer requests, even if they do not have a judicial warrant. He has backed federal programs such as 287(g), which allows local officers to perform functions related to ICE.
Immigrant rights organizations criticize the close collaboration with ICE, beyond what is required by law, for fostering distrust within Latino communities.
For his part, Sheriff Blackwood said that López Durán’s transfer to Alamance was based on a series of logistical factors, such as bed space, the county’s proximity, the ease of transferring and returning, as well as detainee care.
“Alamance county; they had room. They were the first person I checked with. It wasn’t done for any specific reason. Other than that we were close to Alamance County,” Blackwood said in a phone interview.
The sheriff said that his decision was not related to the detainee’s immigration status, which remains unknown.
“Immigration status would not have been a consideration, nor would it have made a difference, as the detainee would have been subject to the same check no matter the facility they were transferred to, and they would have been in my custody not the custody of the receiving facility,” he said.
In North Carolina, when a detainee is transferred, the originating county retains legal custody. Therefore, it remains responsible for legal decisions and release conditions. However, the policies of the receiving county may influence the detainee’s experience.
Impact of policies on public trust
The controversy over the transfer to Alamance highlights a broader concern about the impact of law enforcement decisions on the immigrant community.
Blackwood acknowledged the political and social tension surrounding immigration. The sheriff said that his only intention was to follow established protocols.
“I understand people are on edge. This ain’t got nothing to do with ICE. ICE wasn’t called. It had nothing to do with ice. I’m just trying to do the right thing. I can’t keep him in my jail,” the sheriff said in the phone interview.
But for the residents, the transfer to Alamance is seen as more than just an administrative decision; it raises concerns about trust in local authorities.
“I think it goes back to looking at our policy through a lens of, typically, who’s paying for it and who’s being impacted by it,”said the longtime law enforcement officer. “And in this case, if that were at the forefront of your thoughts and policies, you would have sent this gentleman to Durham. But when you say one thing and do another, it betrays the trust of the public.”
Residents fear that, although supported by established practices, transfers to Alamance County could disproportionately affect the undocumented community in an increasingly restrictive immigration climate.
“How many more detainees, who are Hispanic, will be sent to Alamance County? This is a concern for many of us,” Padilla added.
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