The illegal immigrant suspected of killing an Indianapolis Colts player and another man in a drunken roadside crash over the weekend has been charged with a felony immigration violation, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Manuel Orrego-Savala, a 37-year-old Guatemalan national, was charged with illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien. He was deported in 2007 and 2009, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“The defendant in this case allegedly re-entered the country illegally for the second time before he put the public safety of Indianapolis at risk and took the lives of two innocent men early Sunday morning,” U.S. Attorney Josh J. Minkler said in a statement. “In April, Attorney General [Jeff] Sessions directed all federal prosecutors to prioritize charging aliens that illegally re-enter the country, especially if they are a risk to public safety or there is a criminal history present.”
Authorities arrested Orrego-Savala early Sunday morning shortly after he slammed into Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and Uber driver Jeffrey Monroe as they were standing on the emergency shoulder of Interstate 70 in Indianapolis. He tried to flee the scene but was arrested by a responding officer on a nearby exit ramp, according to Indiana State Police.
Jackson, 26, and Monroe, 54, were standing near Monroe’s car when Orrego-Savala drove his Ford F-150 pickup onto the emergency shoulder and struck both men, police say. Investigators believe Monroe had pulled over and exited the car to assist Jackson, who had become ill.
Orrego-Savala’s blood alcohol level was 0.239 percent—nearly three times the legal limit in Indiana—reports the Indianapolis Star, citing a preliminary probable cause affidavit filed in Marion County Superior Court.
Immigration officers first arrested Orrego-Savala in San Francisco in 2006, an ICE spokeswoman confirmed Monday evening. After an immigration hearing, he was deported back to Guatemala in January 2007.
Just over two years later, ICE officers again arrested Orrego-Savala in San Francisco. He was deported to Guatemala a second time in May 2009.
Aside from his two prior deportations, Orrego-Savala was convicted in 2005 for driving under the influence in Redwood City, California, according to ICE. He has additional criminal convictions in California and Indiana.
Orrego-Savala will remain in custody while the local case is investigated by the Indiana State Police and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. He was formally charged Wednesday with two counts of failure to remain at the scene of an accident and two counts tied to drunken driving death, reports the Star.
The immigration charges will remain pending until the state case is concluded, federal prosecutors say. Orrego-Savala faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the federal charge.
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