The search for justice is on a temporary or permanent pause for three Miami-Dade families that lost three loved ones during a crash on West Flagler in 2022.
Paola Sabillon, her boyfriend Jason Meza, and his cousin Giselle Reyes were passengers who died from their injuries when police say Erwin Rommel Recinos Zuniga crashed into a gasoline station sign in Miami.
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Zuniga, 28, was arrested and charged with 10 counts, including three DUI manslaughter and three reckless vehicular homicide charges. Police say he tested positive for THC and was driving at a speed of 126 mph when he crashed.
Against the victim’s families' wishes, they say Zuniga was placed on house arrest to wait for trial.
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However, after two years of hoping for some justice, the victim’s families were stunned to learn this week that immigration officials deported the alleged killer last week to Honduras.
“He gets deported. He’s living. He’s sleeping. He is seeing his family. My sister stopped growing at 19 years old,” said Miriam Castillo, Sabillon’s sister.
Records obtained by NBC6 show Zuniga “violated the rules and regulations of the Monitored Release Bureau – House Arrest Program, to wit.” He was arrested on new charges of immigration status. The details of those charges were not revealed.
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“According to his attorney, his probation officer called him in to change his battery on his ankle battery. He showed up. Immigration was already there. He got detained. Officer removed the ankle and let him go,” Castillo said based on the information she received in court, during what was supposed to be a hearing to learn the trial date for the man accused of killing her sister.
In a statement to NBC6, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, said, “Zuniga was an unlawfully present Honduran national who was removed Sept 6,” adding, “The removal was pursuant to a final order signed by an immigration judge from the Executive Office of Immigration Review Aug. 27.”
“I have lost the little bit of faith in the justice system,” said Jailene Najera, Sabillo’s sister.
Besides the family, prosecutors were also shocked to learn of the deportation in court.
“This deportation, which robbed the victims’ families of justice, could have been avoided had those overseeing his community supervised release simply notified the Court and the State Attorney’s Office of their intention to release him. No such notification occurred, “ State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle told NBC6. “The families of the young victims and the people of Miami-Dade County understandably feel cheated by this type of governmental failure.”
It's unclear what the next steps will be, however, state attorneys claim they will work with the federal government to try and find the defendant and bring him to Miami.
The Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office did not want to comment.
The Miami-Dade Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the agency that oversees the house arrest programs, also denied to comment.
