SUGARLAND, Texas — Fort Bend County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a six-time deported Honduran criminal alien on charges connected to the hit-and-run death of an 81-year-old woman. Immigration officials confirmed the illegal alien’s immigration history and the placement of a detainer to prevent his possible release.
“This is just another very sad story about the impact of lax border enforcement on the citizens of our community,” Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls told Breitbart Texas in a phone interview Wednesday morning. “It is shameful.”
Deputies arrested 40-year-old Marlon Alexander Zavala-Alcantara for allegedly failing to stop and render aid in a fatal crash that left an 81-year-old woman dying in the street, Nehls said. Zavala allegedly pulled over after striking the woman and then fled. Information provided by witnesses who reportedly followed Zavala led to the arrest.
A surveillance video published by KTRK ABC-13 in Houston shows the moment the vehicle, allegedly driven by Zavala, struck and killed the elderly woman. The image is blurred at the moment of impact.
“This is a direct result of Congress’s unwillingness to take action to secure our border,” Sheriff Nehls said. “God Bless President Donald Trump for what he has done to secure the border despite total resistance from the Democrat-led House of Representatives.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials confirmed to Breitbart Texas Zavala’s status as a six-time deportee:
On Jan. 18, 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged an immigration detainer with the Fort Bend County Jail (Texas) on Marlon Alexander Zavala-Alcantara, 40, a Honduran citizen who was a previously removed criminal alien illegally present in the United States. Zavala-Alcantara was encountered by ICE following his felony arrest for leaving the scene of a fatal auto accident. Zavala-Alcantara has been removed (deported) from the U.S. to Honduras on six previous occasions: Dec. 14, 2001; July 9, 2012; Oct. 5, 2012; June 21, 2013; March 7, 2014; Jan. 16, 2015.
Zavala’s July 2012 deportation followed a DWI conviction in Houston, according to court records obtained by Breitbart Texas from the Harris County District Clerk’s Office. Judge John Clinton sentenced Zavala to 60 days in jail for his second DWI conviction. A court in Brazos County, Texas, previously convicted Zavala for his first DWI in August 2001, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from that county’s court records. Following his release from a 70-day confinement sentence, ICE officers removed him from the U.S. in December 2001 — his first deportation.
Multiple sources told Breitbart Texas that Zavala reportedly has an additional criminal history that includes an aggravated battery in 2003 out of Miami-Dade County, Florida, and a battery in 2000 out of California. He also has at least one conviction in federal court relating to illegal re-entry after removal, sources stated.
Zavala is now charged with failure to stop and render aid in an accident involving a fatality — a second degree felony — Nehls said. If convicted on the charge, he could face between two and 20 years in state prison.
County officials identified the deceased woman as Laquetta Booe, 81, KPRC NBC2 in Houston reported.
Zavala could also face prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas for aggravated illegal re-entry after removal. That charge could bring the Honduran criminal alien an additional sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison.
A court in Fort Bend County set a low bond of $10,000 for the charge related to the death of the 81-year-old Texas woman.
“He’s not going anywhere,” Sheriff Nehls said confidently. “We will honor the ICE detainer and hold him in our jail.”
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for the Breitbart Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.
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