ICE deports accused Guatemalan murderer captured in Utah
GUATEMALA CITY – A previously deported Guatemalan national, who is wanted for murder in his native country, was turned over Friday to Guatemalan law enforcement officials at La Aurora International Airport by officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Walter Guillermo Reyes, 42, was repatriated on board a charter flight coordinated by ERO’s Air Operations Unit. Upon arrival, ERO officers turned the suspect over to officials from Guatemala’s Policia Nacional Civil (PNC). Reyes is wanted in his native country for a murder that occurred July 28, 2011.
A warrant issued in February by judicial authorities in Guatemala accuses Reyes of fatally shooting Linares Granillo in the village of Honduritas, as the victim rode home on horseback, accompanied by his wife and baby.
In February, representatives with the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force in Utah received a lead indicating Reyes might be living in the Salt Lake City area. Reyes was located and taken into custody without incident Feb. 26 by the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (VFAST) near 600 S and 500 W in Salt Lake City.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) databases indicate Reyes illegally entered the U.S. in 1990. In 1998, he was encountered by officers with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service after serving a two-year prison sentence in California for robbery. Reyes was ordered removed by an immigration judge in January 1998 and was repatriated to Guatemala the following month. In May 2012, Reyes again illegally re-entered the U.S. After his arrest this year, he was taken back into custody by ERO, and through his attorney applied for relief from removal. The application was denied by an immigration judge in Salt Lake City, paving the way for his removal last week.
“For the family members and other victims in this case, justice has taken some time, but they can take consolation in the fact the alleged assailant is now being held accountable,” said Daniel Bible, field office director for ERO Salt Lake City. “This fugitive’s arrest and repatriation are the direct result of the ongoing cooperation between U.S. law enforcement and our Guatemalan counterparts. Violent criminals who commit reprehensible crimes and believe they can evade justice by fleeing to the U.S. should be on notice – they will find no refuge here.”
“The U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team tracks down and apprehends violent criminals daily,” said the U.S. Marshal for Utah James Thompson. “This case demonstrates the effectiveness of the partnership between our federal, state and local counterparts by denying a dangerous and violent fugitive sanctuary on the streets of our cities. The U.S. Marshals Service will continue to pursue fugitives abroad, as well as foreign fugitives on our soil, so they can be held accountable for their crimes and the victims are able to receive the justice they deserve.”
Since October 2009, ERO has removed more than 900 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with 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 U.S.
Updated: