A Prince William County's prosecutor is seeking to upgrade charges against an illegal Bolivian immigrant after a fatal DUI crash, and Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert has stated to press that he is more interested in seeing the suspect prosecuted for the crime than deporting the man. Ebert intends to ask a grand jury to upgrade charges against 23-year-old Carlos Martinelly Montano to felony murder, which carries a possible sentence of 40 years behind bars.
Montano was arraigned August 4th on charges of involuntary manslaughter and driving on a revoked license .Montano emigrated to California from his native Bolivia as a nine-year-old, and Ebert commented:
"I've decided I'm not interested in a criminal's immigration status. If he commits the crime here, then he has to pull the time here."
Since 2006, Montano has been convicted twice of DUI, as well as various other moving violations. Following his previous convictions, officials in Prince William county officials notified U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the arrests. As Montano was not marked as a violent offender, ICE officials indicate that deportation proceedings were not "fast tracked." Officials expressed frustration at the ICE's failure to prevent the tragic accident Sunday morning resulting in the death of Sister Denise Mosier and injury to two other nuns with whom she was traveling.
Corey Stewart, chairman of Prince William County's Board of Supervisors, said:
"We handed him over to the feds assuming he would be deported, but instead federal authorities released him back into the neighborhood and he killed a nun. We feel like we are beating our heads against the wall."
It is unclear whether Montano has been assigned or retained a Virginia DUI lawyer to face the charges against him. He is scheduled to appear in court on October 13th, and is currently being held in Prince William-Manassas regional jail without bond.
This article is presented by The Law Office of Price Benowitz, LLP, serving Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. For more information, please visit our Maryland Criminal Lawyer and DC Criminal Lawyer websites.
