Guatemalan man deported to face charges in connection with deadly carjacking
PHILADELPHIA — A Guatemalan man who is wanted on charges in his home country in connection with a fatal car jacking attempt was deported Wednesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
According to Guatemalan authorities Oscar Lopez Guerra, 32, is wanted on possession of firearms charges after he allegedly was involved in a carjacking attempt that resulted in one innocent bystander’s death and another person wounded.
In September 2011, Lopez and two others allegedly boarded a micro bus driven by a man who was accompanied by his wife. Lopez and his suspected accomplices put a gun to the driver’s head and threatened to kill him if he didn’t drive them where they wanted. The driver refused, so the suspected carjackers began shooting and grabbed the driver’s wife, threatening to kill her if the he didn’t follow their orders. According to authorities, the woman was shot during the heated exchange and later was pronounced dead.
Lopez was detained on the scene and is suspected to have fled soon after he posted bail. A warrant was issued by Guatemala in January 2013 alerting international law enforcement.
Philadelphia ERO officers encountered the fugitive near Lansdale, Pennsylvania, during a Violent Criminal Alien Section operation in December 2014, and he was taken into custody. An immigration judge ordered him removed from the United States in July 2015, and he is now under Guatemalan authority.
However, this wasn’t the first time ERO deported him. The fugitive had tried once before to hide out in the United States but was found and detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Texas in August 2012 (before the international warrant was issued) and deported about a month later.
“They may try, but this country will not be a refuge for criminals,” said Tom Decker, ERO Philadelphia field office director. “We will continue to seek out and deport wanted criminals to ensure they face justice in their home countries and to keep our communities safe.”
ICE prioritizes the use of enforcement personnel, detention space and removal assets to support the civil immigration enforcement priorities. By taking criminals who pose public safety threats off community streets and removing them from the country, ICE addresses a significant security and public safety vulnerability.
In fiscal 2014, ERO removed 315,943 individuals from the United States. In addition to convicted criminals, the agency’s enforcement priorities include those apprehended while attempting to unlawfully enter the United States, illegal re-entrants – individuals who returned to the United States after being previously removed by ICE – and immigration fugitives. In fiscal 2014, 98 percent of ICE removals met these priorities.
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