2 Mexican fugitives wanted for separate homicides deported by ICE El Paso
EL PASO, Texas — Two Mexican fugitives wanted for separate homicides — one in Sonora and the other in Zacatecas, Mexico — were deported Thursday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Luis Angel Romo, 29, and Fidel Muñoz-Gomez, 35, were turned over to Mexican authorities March 31 at the international boundary on El Paso’s Stanton Bridge Port of Entry.
According to Mexican court filings, Romo is charged with aggravated homicide, aggravated robbery and conspiracy in the death of Juan Carlos Suarez. In 2012, Suarez was robbed and shot in the head with a .223-caliber AR-15 rifle on the side of the road in Sonora, Mexico.
In January 2006, Romo entered the United States illegally near Sasabe, Arizona, and was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents. Romo was voluntarily returned to Mexico for the eighth time, according to record checks. In June 2008, Romo illegally re-entered the United States. Border Patrol agents arrested him with 623 pounds of marijuana. He was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration, convicted on the drug charge, and sentenced to 13 months and one day in federal prison.
While Romo was serving his prison sentence at New Mexico’s Cibola County Correctional Center in May 2009, ERO El Paso officers served him with a notice of intent to issue a final administrative removal order after having been convicted of an aggravated felony. On the same date, he was removed from the United States to Mexico.
Romo illegally entered the United States near Sasabe, Arizona, on June 30, 2013. He was convicted of illegal entry by the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona on July 3, 2013, and sentenced to 180 days of incarceration with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. On Dec. 28, 2013, ERO El Paso officers again deported Romo through Eagle Pass, Texas.
Romo again illegally entered the United States near Sasabe, Arizona, on Sept. 17, 2015. The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona convicted Romo for illegally re-entering the United States Sept. 22; he was sentenced to 180 days in federal prison.
On Feb. 24, the Mexican attorney general’s office in El Paso advised the El Paso ICE office of an active arrest warrant issued in Sonora, Mexico, for Romo on charges of aggravated homicide, aggravated robbery and conspiracy. On March 31, ICE officers in El Paso accommodated the Attorney General of Mexico’s request to turn over Romo to Mexican law enforcement officials at the time of his removal.
Muñoz-Gomez wanted for homicide in Zacatecas, Mexico
According to a Mexican arrest warrant, Muñoz-Gomez, aka “El Bubis,” is wanted for the December 2015 murder of Andres Fernandez Morales in Rio Grande, Zacatecas, Mexico.
On April 11, 2005, Muñoz-Gomez illegally entered the United States near Naco, Arizona. Border Patrol agents arrested him and voluntarily returned him to Mexico four days later.
On March 9, 2016, Muñoz-Gomez again illegally entered the United States near Tornillo, Texas. On the same day, Border Patrol agents arrested him in Fabens, Texas. He was convicted March 17, 2016, of illegally entering the United States and sentenced to time served. The next day, the Mexican attorney general’s office in El Paso advised the El Paso ICE office of the active arrest warrant issued in Zacatecas, Mexico, for Muñoz-Gomez for homicide. On March 31, 2016, ICE officers in El Paso accommodated the Attorney General of Mexico’s request to turn over Muñoz-Gomez to Mexican law enforcement officials at the time of his removal.
Corey A. Price, field office director of ERO El Paso, said repatriation of criminal aliens helps protect law-abiding citizens on both sides of the border.
“These two removals of suspects wanted for homicides exemplify the outstanding cooperation between the governments of the United States and Mexico,” said Price. “ICE continues to work closely with our foreign law enforcement partners to locate these criminal suspects in the United States and return them to authorities so they can face justice in their home countries.”
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 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. They can also file a tip online by completing ICE’s online tip form.
In fiscal year 2015, ICE conducted 235,413 removals nationwide. Ninety-one percent of individuals removed from the interior of the United States had previously been convicted of a criminal offense.
ICE is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that targets serious criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, such as those charged with or convicted of homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, major drug offenses and threats to national security.
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