The Salvadoran illegal migrant arrested in the fatal shooting of a 2-year-old in Maryland had previously been released twice from jail despite ICE requesting he be deported on both occasions.
Nilson Trejo-Granados, 25, was arrested Monday and charged with first- and second-degree murder in the Feb. 8 shooting death of Jeremy Poou Caceres while the child was out walking with his 17-year-old mother. The child was caught in the crossfire of a shootout between two groups during a drug dispute, police said.
According to charges reviewed by The Washington Post, Trejo-Granados is not accused of firing the weapon that killed Caceres, but he is alleged to have been in a car with a group of people connected to the shootout.
Trejo-Granados had been arrested twice before the incident and was cut loose in both cases even though ICE wanted him held for deportation since he was in the country illegally.
HONDURAN ILLEGAL MIGRANT ARRESTED FOR RAPE OF GIRL, 14, STABBING MAN DURING KNIFEPOINT ROBBERY
Trejo-Granados was arrested for theft March 21 by the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD), and ICE issued an immigration detainer for him the following day with the Montgomery County Detention Center (MCDC), an ICE spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
He was nabbed again by the MCPD Sept. 26 and charged with theft of under $100 and obstructing and hindering. Again, the following day, ICE issued an immigration detainer on him with the (MCDC) but it "refused to honor the detainer and released Trejo-Granados from custody Oct. 12, 2023," an ICE spokesperson said.
The MCDC said at a news briefing that Trejo-Granados was released from custody in March due to the crime's lack of severity, a theft of property valued at betwen $100 and $1,500. Police said they are still investigating why he was let go in September and not held on an ICE detainer, a request asking local law enforcement to keep the suspect in custody until the suspect can be transferred to ICE and put into deportation proceedings.
Montgomery County states on its website that it is not a "sanctuary" jurisdiction and that local police and the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation work cooperatively with ICE on immigration violations.
However, the website also states that the police are not to inquire about anyone's immigration status, nor does the county conduct any immigration enforcement or investigations.
"We believe that this is the right balance for this country," the website states. Fox 5 was the first to report about the detainers in this case.
SALVADORAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTED IN CONNECTION TO MARYLAND MURDER OF 2-YEAR-OLD BOY
Baltimore Field Office Director Darius Reeves told Fox News Digital this week that, in fiscal year 2023, ICE issued 198 detainers to the county, none of which were honored. So far in fiscal 2024, the agency has issued 119 detainers, and none have been honored by the county.
However, the county challenged those figures Thursday and said it had been honoring detainers, citing a driving while intoxicated case last week.
Trejo-Granados is now the fifth suspect arrested in the murder of Jeremy.
A 15-year-old male from Takoma Park and a 16-year-old male from Hyattsville have also been arrested and are both charged as adults, while 33-year-old Israel Fuentes, Jr. of Lewisdale and 28-year-old Johnny Alejandro Turcios of Lewisdale are also facing charges.
The preliminary investigation revealed two groups of men exchanged gunfire near where Caceres and his mother were walking.
The boy was fatally struck while his mother, Rosa Caceres was also shot, but she survived.
The heartbroken mother told Fox 5 he was loved by his family, and his aunts often helped take care of him.
"It's not easy, not only for me but for my family," Rosa said.
"It was hard for me because he was the person I was holding onto to go on with my life, and now I don’t have him."
Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
