HOUSTON, Texas — The driver who allegedly killed a man in northwest Harris County in a fatal hit-and-run on Sunday night is a previously deported illegal alien with a criminal record.
Precinct 4 Constable’s Office deputies arrested 33-year-old Arturo Perez-Gallegos late Sunday after he allegedly ran over a pedestrian pushing a bicycle along FM 1960 near Willowbrook Mall. Perez-Gallegos fled the scene of the crash and was later arrested at a nearby gas station, according to information provided by Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman’s office.
“When our deputies arrived on the scene of the crash, they found the victim dead in the ditch in the 8900 block of FM 1960,” Constable Herman told Breitbart Texas in an exclusive interview on Monday. “We began gathering debris from the crash that might help us identify the vehicle that hit the victim and then fled.”
“A witness approached one of our deputies and advised him of a vehicle in a gas station parking lot that was disabled,” Herman explained. “The witness said there was a man walking around the Chevrolet pickup truck assessing the damage.”
Herman said his deputies went to the gas station to find the truck and driver. As he approached, the suspect ran and locked himself in a bathroom. The deputy later arrested the man and identified him as Perez-Gallegos.
“We believe the reason he stopped at the gas station is the truck became disabled from the crash,” Herman told Breitbart Texas. “If not for that, he might have successfully avoided the timely arrest.”
Herman said the suspected hit-and-run driver showed “several signs of intoxication.” Herman also said his deputies found the suspect’s child in the vehicle.
“We took him to a local hospital where a blood sample was taken,” the constable said. “We must now await the results of that test to determine if he was actually intoxicated.”
“Our deputies arrested him and booked him into the Harris County jail,” Herman concluded. “He is charged with Fail to Stop and Render Aid (Fatal) and Driving While Intoxicated with a Child Passenger.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told Breitbart Texas that Perez-Gallegos, a Mexican citizen, is in the United States illegally. Border Patrol agents first encountered the subject in 2006 and allowed him a “voluntary return” (deportation) to Mexico. ICE agents later encountered him at the Harris County jail in 2016. Immigration officers did not detain him at that time, citing “prosecutorial discretion” under Obama administration policies.”
Harris County District Clerk records confirm this is not Perez-Gallegos’ first encounter with Harris County law enforcement officials. In September 2016, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office arrested Perez-Gallegos after he broke into the apartment of the mother of his child and hit her in the left eye with his fist, a criminal complaint states. A judge in Harris County Criminal Court at Law #3 convicted Perez-Gallegos after he pleaded guilty to the Class A misdemeanor of Assault-Family Member in May 2017. The judge sentenced him to 6 days in jail.
Court documents for the new felony charges are not yet available.
Court records show that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers placed an immigration detainer on Perez-Gallegos following his arrest Sunday night. ICE officials confirmed that to Breitbart Texas on Monday.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Face
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