Suspect in fatal hit-and-run wanted by ICE; sheriff’s department refuses to honor detainer

[Teh One Who Knocks]

by Kristin Haubrich - FOX 31 Denver




DENVER -- An undocumented immigrant is in jail in connection with a deadly hit-and-run crash and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents want to take him into custody.

But the Denver Sheriff’s Department refuses to honor the detainer.

Denver stopped honoring detainer orders from ICE in 2014. If the undocumented immigrant, 26-year-old Ivan Zamarripa-Castaneda, posts his $25,000 bond, he’s free to go until his next court date.

Cellphone video captured the fiery aftermath of the deadly hit-and-run crash at Interstate 70 and Brighton Boulevard over the weekend.



The Denver Police Department said Zamarripa-Castaneda slammed into a semitruck, killing the driver.

Police say he then fled the scene. Officers located him the next day at his home and noted that his speech was slurred. Officers arrested him on vehicular homicide charges.

On Monday, ICE agents discovered Zamarripa-Castaneda is in the United States illegally, and immediately issued an immigration detainer in an effort to gain custody to get him deported to Mexico.

But the sheriff’s department refuses to honor it after rulings that it is potentially liable for a Fourth Amendment violation.

Spokesman Carl Rusnok said ICE prefers the criminal justice system serve its course and after sentencing, it would get custody of the criminal.

The sheriff’s department said the city will always enforce a warrant or order signed by a federal judge or magistrate. ICE said getting that warrant signed is no easy task.

“One of the issues is we detain somewhere around 34,000 to 40,000 people per day," Rusnok said. "We place detainers on thousands and thousands of people.

"Getting federal warrants for each one of those individuals would be extremely time consuming and it’s something we don’t have the resources for.”

As of now, if Zamarripa-Castaneda posts bond, ICE cannot deport him. Rusnok said that’s an issue of public safety.

“By ICE taking custody of these individuals, we actually help improve public safety by taking these criminal aliens off the streets and ultimately removing them to their country of origin,” Rusnok said.

The Denver District Attorney's Office has not officially charged Zamarripa-Castaneda.

Assuming it does, a spokesman said the intention is to prosecute defendants first upon a conviction and have them serve time in Colorado before ICE might deport them for criminal behavior.

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[PorkChopSandwiches]

#SanctuaryCity Its for your safety

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Thanks a lot Porky

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[Teh One Who Knocks]

FOX 31 Denver Staff




DENVER -- An undocumented immigrant charged with vehicular homicide after a fiery crash on March 3 bonded out of jail a week later and managed to avoid being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Ivan Zamarripa-Castaneda was wanted by ICE, but the Denver Sheriff's Department said Sunday that although the department alerted ICE in response to a request for release notification it received, that did not occur until 6:33 p.m.

Zamarripa-Castaneda, 26, bonded out at 5:28 p.m.

The sheriff's department called the delay"unacceptable" and said the sheriff has "ordered an immediate internal review to determine why established notification processes did not take place before Zamarripa-Castaneda was released."

ICE Denver Field Office director Jeffrey Lynch called Zamarripa-Castaneda an "immigration fugitive."

The sheriff's department notificed ICE that it would release Zamarripa-Castaneda at an unspecified time.

Less than two hours later, ICE officers arrived at the sheriff's department to take Zamarripa-Castaneda into custody but were told he had already been released.

ICE said it's working with the sheriff's department to avoid a similar situation in the future.

"As law enforcement professionals, we should all have the same ultimate goal in mind -- to protect the public by combating criminals," Lynch said in a statement.

"ICE helps fulfill that role by removing criminal aliens from the streets, and from the United States. Zamarripa-Castaneda is currently an immigration fugitive.”

Denver and all other state agencies stopped honoring detainer orders from ICE in 2014 after courts ruled it was illegal.

The crash happened near eastbound Interstate 70 and North Brighton Boulevard shortly before midnight on March 3. It involved a tractor trailer that caught on fire.

The 57-year-old driver of the semitruck died. Officials have not released the victim's identity.

Zamarripa-Castaneda, 26, then fled the scene of the accident, the Denver Police Department said. He was arrested at his home in the 2600 block of West Bayaud Avenue early March 4, prosecutors said.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Zamarripa-Castaneda’s speech was slurred and his breath had a moderate odor of unknown alcohol.

Zamarripa-Castaneda has been charged with one count of vehicular homicide-DUI and one count of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

He appeared in court on Friday morning for a second advisement before making bail on Saturday.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 2.

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