Three Miami-Dade families were once again struck with tragedy when county officials refused to answer how the man accused of causing a deadly triple crash on West Flagler was deported to Honduras and avoided American justice.
Erwin Rommel Recinos Zuniga was arrested and charged in 2022 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.
Paola Sabillon, her boyfriend Jason Meza, and his cousin Giselle Reyes were passengers who died from their injuries when police say Zuniga crashed into a gasoline station sign in Miami.
However, NBC6 exclusively reported last week that after two years of hoping for some justice, the victims’ families were stunned to learn that immigration officials deported the alleged drunk driver.
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“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.
Judge Laura Cruz, the presiding judge on Zuniga’s case, said Thursday that no one from the corrections department notified her, state, or defense attorneys about the release to ICE, as protocol demands.
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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.
On Thursday, despite Judge Cruz ordering corrections to provide the families and the court answers on why no one was notified to prevent the deportation, jail staff sent their attorneys to court, who failed to answer, quoting statutorily limitations, departmental procedures, and collective bargaining agreements, among other excuses.
County and corrections attorneys added there is a pending investigation on the matter.
When asked by Assistant State Attorney Shawn Abuhoff if the officer supposed to monitor Zuniga was on some sort of desk duty job or administrative leave pending the investigation, Patricia A. Jones Cummings, an attorney representing the Miami-Dade Corrections responded, “Yes, he’s still an officer with the department.”
During Thursday’s hearing, state attorney Christine Zahralban told Judge Cruz that Zuniga is not the first defendant to be released from the jail and handed off to immigration officials, despite their pending local charges.
Zahralban claims a man by the name of Cesar Julian Gonzalez Alvarado, facing a sexual battery on a minor charge was, “released from house arrest. Sent to Louisiana. Someone tipped me off and I had him brought back from Louisiana right as he was getting on the flight."
Gonzalez Alvarado has pleaded not guilty, according to records.
Corrections told the court they would be able to provide an update in 180 days.
“There were three lives. They were not animals. They want to give time a period of six months that’s not right we want answers now,” Castillo said. “They know what happened they know where the ball was dropped and they don’t want to admit it.”
