New image emerges for Apple Valley squatter

From the day early last year when Francisco Javier Serrano was found squatting at Apple Valley High School, the face he presented to the world was that of a shy, gentle young man who wanted nothing more than a new life in Minnesota.

Then, he dropped from sight in January, on the day he was supposed to return to his native Mexico.

The Serrano who surfaced last month in Boston allegedly was a violent home invader, kicking in the apartment door of strangers and threatening them with knives.

Spike Nagel, the apartment resident who was confronted by Serrano, said the intruder was glassy-eyed and changed from threatening to pleading to be killed during the break-in.

Rochelle Barrett, wife of Minneapolis developer Basim Sabri, who became Serrano's primary benefactor in the Twin Cities, said that doesn't sound like the young man she knew.

"I'm just shocked -- I would have never imagined Javier would be capable of violence," she said. "He was with us for a year, and I never saw that side of him."

Serrano, 22, now sits in jail in Boston, accused of the break-in and facing almost-certain deportation once his criminal case is resolved.

Police said Serrano has been living at the Motel 6 in Braintree, Mass., about 10 miles south of Boston.

"Somehow or other he ended up here, but it's still not clear to us why," said district attorney spokesman David Procopio. "This is one of the most bizarre cases we've ever had. "

Even if he's not convicted of the break-in, Serrano will eventually be deported, said Tim Counts, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota.

"When the folks in Boston are done with him, we'll come pick him up, and he'll be deported for a minimum of 10 years, maybe more if he's convicted of a criminal act," Counts said.

Serrano was supposed to board a Minneapolis-to-Mexico City flight on Jan. 5 after overstaying a tourist visa that expired years ago. Although an immigration judge gave him the status of voluntary departure from the United States in a ruling last September, if he failed to leave, that order also called for his deportation, Counts said.

On the afternoon of his supposed departure, amid much news media coverage, Serrano hugged supporters, said goodbye at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, walked toward the security screeners and disappeared.

A crash, a confrontation

On March 29, Nagel had just fallen asleep on his living room couch when a loud crash woke him about 3 a.m.

Serrano, who grabbed a kitchen knife and was armed with a second knife he apparently brought, was standing in the kitchen.

Nagel confronted Serrano: "He said, 'I'm not here to steal anything. I just want to kill somebody.' His eyes were glazed over. The boy was ... gone."

Nagel said Serrano pointed the knives at him, then suddenly changed his tone, tearing up and asking to be killed. Nagel tried to talk Serrano out of the apartment.

"And then he kept coming at me with the knives," Nagel said. "The neighborhood I live in, you don't take that. I told him I was going to kill him."

Serrano fled into the streets with Nagel in hot pursuit, wielding a pot. Nagel said he was able to tackle Serrano, eventually disarm him and plant a foot on his chest before hitting him on the head a few times with the pot.

Police soon arrived and took over.

Nagel said Serrano had spoken to him in English, but pretended not to understand the language when police arrived.

Barrett said she has no explanation for Serrano's behavior. "The only thing I can imagine is that because he was on the run from the law, he became paranoid," she said. "Or maybe he was acting out of desperation. I just don't know."

She and her husband don't regret giving him "our complete support -- emotional, financial, you name it. I wish he knew he had backing here."

On Monday, ICE got an anonymous phone tip, saying Serrano had been jailed in Boston. "We checked the prints, found out it was the same guy and put a detainer -- a hold -- on him Monday night," Counts said.

Court appearance April 28

Serrano entered the United States in 2002 on a six-month tourist visa. He said he had been deserted by his father in Connecticut and came back to Apple Valley, where he had attended high school. A janitor discovered him sleeping in the school in January 2005. When Serrano's story came out, he was befriended by Sabri and his family.

In Boston, Suffolk County officials raised bail from $2,500 to $25,000 after discovering his immigration status.

He has been charged with home invasion, a charge that will be amended to the less-severe charge of breaking and entering when he makes a court appearance April 28.

Nagel said he feels bad for Serrano and wishes he could sit down and talk with him.

"He definitely looked like someone who's been down and out," he said.

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