BISBEE - In Cochise County's first test of new Proposition 100 legislation, a judge ruled Tuesday that a suspected illegal immigrant accused of stealing a car could not be held without bond.

Instead, Superior Court Judge James Conlogue set a $10,000 bond for 28-year-old Ricardo Carillo-Mendez as he awaits trial on one felony charge of car theft.

Prop. 100, passed by Arizona voters last November, amended the state constitution so that people who enter the country illegally and are charged with class 1, 2, 3 and 4 felonies cannot be released on bond.

But before a defendant can be held under the statute, a judge must rule that there is sufficient evidence that the alleged crime was committed and that there is evidence the person is in the U.S. illegally. Furthermore, that ruling must come at an evidentiary hearing held within 24 hours of a defendant's initial court appearance.

Carillo-Mendez was arraigned Monday afternoon in Superior Court.

On Tuesday morning, Conlogue ruled that Sierra Vista police investigators had not yet collected enough evidence to show that Carillo-Mendez had stolen the car he was driving when police stopped him April 11 on Buffalo Soldier Trail.

Derek Osburn, the Sierra Vista police officer who arrested Carillo-Mendez, testified that a check of the car's plates showed that it had been reported stolen. However, he further testified there were no physical signs that the car had been broken into or hotwired, and that Carillo-Mendez said he did not know the car had been stolen.

Osburn also said a Border Patrol agent at the scene of the traffic stop reported that Carillo-Mendez told him that he had illegally entered the U.S. However, because Conlogue ruled the car-theft evidence was not strong enough to hold Carillo-Mendez under Prop. 100, he did not rule whether there was sufficient evidence to hold Carillo-Mendez under the law as an illegal immigrant.

According to Prop. 100 guidelines, a judge must decide at the evidentiary hearing "if the proof is evident or the presumption is great" that the alleged crime was committed - a standard somewhere between probable cause and guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

"What exactly does that mean? No one knows," said Legal Defender Mike Politi, who represented Carillo-Mendez at the hearing.

The rules of Prop. 100 will become more clearly defined as more and more cases are heard, Politi predicted.

"Any time there is new legislation like this, it creates fertile ground for litigation and appeals," he said.