EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) —The man accused of killing a 26-year-old woman in Sunland Park last month in a hit-and-run crash is back behind bars after being arrested on a new DWI charge.
Vicente Vasquez Jr., 61, went before a judge in Doña Ana County on Monday, Aug. 25, where prosecutors asked the court to revoke his bond and keep him in custody. The judge did not issue a ruling and set another hearing within the week to determine whether Vasquez will remain detained until trial.
Court records show Vasquez was arrested on Aug. 19 for aggravated DWI while driving on a suspended license. At the time of his arrest, he was already out on bond in connection with a deadly July 3 crash in Sunland Park that killed 26-year-old Graciela Citlali-Tonazin Sahs and seriously injured a man. Vasquez was initially released on an unsecured bond.
In a statement to KTSM, the Doña Ana County District Attorney’s Office said it was not aware of Vasquez’s multiple prior DWI convictions in Texas at the time of his initial court appearance.
“At the time of the initial hearing on the original vehicular homicide case, the District Attorney’s Office was unaware of Mr. Vasquez’s multiple prior DWI convictions in Texas,” the office said. “His last known DWI offense in New Mexico was in 2005, and based on the information available at that time, the case did not meet the legal threshold to request pretrial detention under New Mexico law. However, after the hearing, we became aware of his out-of-state DWI history. Mr. Vasquez is now back in custody and we are pursuing felony-level charges for the new DWI offense.”
The DA’s office adds that it will request he remain detained until his cases are resolved.
Family members of Sahs told KTSM they are frustrated that Vasquez was released on bond after the fatal crash.
“He killed my child. And you let him go for $1,000. To me, that was like, so my child’s life was worth $1,000? Is that all she was worth?” said her mother, Jennifer Nava-Sahs.
Vasquez has multiple prior DWI convictions in both Texas and New Mexico. Court records show he was sentenced to eight years by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in 2017.
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