EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A Mexican national with pending homicide charges in Michigan has waived his right to a hearing on a separate illegal entry charge in El Paso.
Court records show the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended Alfonso Guzman Intzin near the intersection of Interstate 10 and Executive Center Boulevard on Sept. 13. That’s a spot just north of the old Smeltertown cemetery and less than a mile from the Rio Grande and the U.S.-Mexico border.
The apprehending agents determined Guzman had no legal right to be present in the United States and was previously removed from the country twice, the last time on April 2 through Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas.
A more in-depth investigation revealed that Guzman has a pending homicide charge in Lansing, Michigan, and that a warrant for his arrest was issued after he failed to appear in court there on July 16.
Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens referred to Guzman as a convicted felon and said the arrest came because Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and Border Patrol agents disrupted a smuggling operation on Sept. 13. The highways in West El Paso near the Texas-New Mexico state line have been the site of frequent DPS pursuits of vehicles “loading up” with migrants in New Mexico and coming across the state line aggressively trying to avoid authorities.
Records show U.S. Magistrate Judge Miguel A. Torres on Sept. 16 ordered Guzman detained without bond and set a detention hearing for Sept. 25 on charges of illegal reentry after deportation. A public defender entered a waiver of preliminary and detention hearings on behalf of Guzman.
There was no immediate word on whether Guzman will be extradited to face the homicide and failure to appear charges in Michigan.
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