Accused murderer of 17-year-old boy deported to Mexico

DALLAS - A man who was wanted in Mexico for allegedly killing a 17-year-old boy in 2005 was deported on Thursday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Juan Jose Lopez-Juarez, 36, a Mexican national, was turned over to Mexican authorities March 4 at the Laredo, Texas, port of entry. The Mexican Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) took custody of Lopez-Juarez, who was wanted for homicide in the State of Michoacán, Mexico. According to Mexican authorities, Lopez-Juarez is accused of pushing aside the boy's mother who was standing in front of her son and pleading for his life. Lopez-Juarez then allegedly shot the boy in the face, which killed him.

"ICE works closely with our local, state, federal and international law enforcement partners to identify, locate and deport aliens who are wanted in their home countries for committing heinous crimes," said Nuria T. Prendes, field office director of the ICE Office of Detention and Removal Operations in Dallas. "We will not allow criminal aliens to use the United States as a safe haven from their crimes." Prendes oversees 128 counties in north Texas and the State of Oklahoma.

Lopez-Juarez was arrested at his apartment in Dallas on Feb. 22 by ICE agents and officers from the Dallas County Constables Precinct Four Special Response Team during the three-day ICE operation called Cross Check. During this operation, ICE, with the assistance of local law enforcement agencies, arrested 284 aliens with criminal convictions throughout Texas. Of this total, 119 were arrested in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. ICE learned of Lopez-Juarez' whereabouts from a tip provided through ICE's hotline: 1-866-347-2423.

In March 2000, Lopez-Juarez was convicted in the United States for burglarizing a vehicle. On May 30, 2000 he was ordered deported by a federal immigration. That deportation order was carried out two days later.