Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has confirmed that the suspect in a drunk driving hit-and-run that killed a 22-year-old man in New Mexico has entered the United States illegally.
ICE confirmed to Fox News that 21-year-old Jesus Sandoval-Martinez was arrested early Monday morning and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, reckless driving and leaving an accident resulting in serious injury or death.
Authorities allege Sandoval-Martinez had been drinking when his Dodge pickup truck collided with a Tesla and a Toyota Corolla at an intersection in Albuquerque Monday night.
After the fatal crash, the 21-year-old migrant reportedly fled on foot and witnesses said he was visibly disoriented and slurring his speech.
Data shows sharp rise in criminal immigrants entering the US since 2021
Authorities charged Jesus Sandoval-Martinez with vehicular homicide (DWI), leaving the scene of an accident, failure to obey a traffic control device and reckless driving. He was arrested on July 1. (ice)
Witnesses and passersby tracked him to a Walgreens, where he remained until officers arrived.
Police officials confirmed that the migrant ran a red light, killing the Tesla driver, Tiger Gutierrez, 22.
On July 1, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Enforcement and Removal Services officers filed an immigration detention order against Jesus Sandoval Martinez, age 21, of Mexico. (ice)
Gutierrez died and one passenger was hospitalized, authorities said.
The driver of the Toyota suffered minor injuries and was treated, according to ICE.
Following Sandoval-Martinez’s arrest, ICE filed an immigration detention order against him after establishing probable cause to remove him from the United States.
The suspected illegal immigrant accused of killing Jocelyn Nangaray was wearing an ice ankle monitor.
ICE said it had never encountered the migrants before the deadly crash.
Fox News confirmed with sources that he was a Mexican national, did not have a Social Security number or a valid driver’s license.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection processed approximately 84,000 migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization in June 2024.
More than 13,000 “non-citizens who have committed crimes” attempted to enter the U.S. and were apprehended by Border Patrol agents in fiscal year 2024, up from 4,269 in fiscal year 2019.
Crime committed by illegal immigrants is on the rise.
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The case also includes the arrest of Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, 23, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, who is charged with raping and murdering Maryland mother Rachel Morin.
In a separate case, Venezuelan immigrants Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, 22, and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26, are accused of killing 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston.
Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.
