ICE removes former LA-area fugitive accused in Venezuelan police officer’s death
LOS ANGELES – A Venezuelan national captured in the Los Angeles area, who is wanted for the hit-and-run death of a police officer in his native country, was turned over to authorities in Caracas Thursday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Chant Kilajian Akmakji, 27, was repatriated via commercial flights escorted by ERO officers. Upon arrival at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas, ERO officers transferred Kilajian to the custody of Venezuelan law enforcement officials. Kilajian is wanted in his native country for the officer’s death, which occurred May 28, 2011.
According to the Venezuelan arrest warrant, Kilajian was in a speeding vehicle on the streets of Caracas with his brother and another man when the trio plowed into the police officer as he was riding a motorcycle. Venezuelan authorities believe the three men were under the influence of drugs at the time. The suspects fled the accident scene, then went to a nearby police station to report the vehicle had been stolen.
Department of Homeland Security databases show Kilajian arrived in the U.S. April 16, 2012, entering on a tourist visa. A week later, Venezuelan authorities issued a criminal arrest warrant charging him with murder, manslaughter, and injury causing death. ICE’s attaché offices in Bogota and Caracas worked closely with Venezuelan law enforcement to keep them apprised of the progress of the case and coordinate the custody transfer upon Kilajian’s arrival in Caracas.
In January 2014, ERO officers arrested Kilajian on administrative immigration violations after members of the U.S. Marshals Pacific Southwest Regional Task Force stopped his vehicle near a Malibu construction site where he worked. Kilajian was ordered removed by an immigration judge in September 2014. He filed subsequent appeals with the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which were denied – paving the way for his return to Venezuela.
“The return of this fugitive to Venezuela to face justice is a direct result of the ongoing cooperation between U.S. law enforcement and our counterparts throughout Latin America,” said David Jennings, field office director for ERO Los Angeles. “Violent criminals who believe they can evade the law by fleeing to the U.S. should be on notice they will find no refuge here.”
Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 1,150 foreign fugitives from the United States who were sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Office of International Operations, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the United States. Members of the public who have information about foreign fugitives are urged to contact ICE by calling the toll-free ICE tip line at 1-866-347-2423 or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. The public may also file a tip online by completing ICE’s online tip form.
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