A previously deported and released illegal alien is accused of killing a father of three daughters in a drunk driving hit-and-run crash in upstate New York.
Heriberto R. Perez-Velasquez, a 31-year-old illegal alien from Guatemala, hit and killed 59-year-old Mark Knapp in Weedsport, New York, on November 10, according to the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office. Police said Knapp was driving his tractor to get it washed when Perez-Velasquez was drunk driving and hit the father of three. Knapp was a retired electrician and belonged to the local IBEW Local 43 union.
Knapp, police said, was thrown from the tractor and died. Knapp leaves behind his wife, Sharon Hildebrant, as well as their three daughters, Samantha Knapp, Kaitlynne Knapp, and Christy Stoneburg, and his grandson, Coby.
Republicans Working to End Biden-era Regulation That Funded Travel for Illegal Alien Minors Who Were Getting Abortions
Florida executes Richard Barry Randolph, convicted of raping, killing former convenience store manager
Nydia Velazquez, first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress, announces 2026 retirement
Rescue operation underway after possible overboard incident on Carnival Cruise ship
Fate of Abrego Garcia hangs as judge grills DOJ on removal order
Thune attempt to alter controversial ‘Arctic Frost’ provision blocked
CDC Declares ‘the Possibility That Infant Vaccines Cause Autism’ Has Not Been Ruled Out in Major Messaging Shift
DOJ sues Newsom over California giving illegal immigrants college tuition benefits
Maryland grand jury investigating handling of Schiff mortgage fraud inquiry: Source
Watch: James Comer Brings Hard Evidence to House Floor After Hakeem Jeffries Calls Him a ‘Stone-Cold Liar’
Russia and Ukraine worked ‘equally’ with US counterparts on peace deal for a month, Leavitt says
‘Peak Irony’ Riley Gaines Fires Back Against Megan Rapinoe’s Attack on the ‘Save Women’s Sports’ Movement
New York leaders condemn ‘intifada’ chants targeting a synagogue led by a Holocaust survivor
GOP wrestles with Obamacare fix as Trump looms over subsidy fight
Leavitt does damage control after ‘frustrated’ Trump lashes out at reporter and calls for executing Democrats
Following the crash, police said the illegal alien fled the scene, but was eventually stopped by sheriff’s deputies and a pedestrian. Aside from allegedly driving drunk, Perez-Velasquez had been driving without a license and he was not authorized to be driving the car, police said.
A month before the deadly hit-and-run, though, Perez-Velasquez was released by Wayne County, New York, officials and not turned over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency after he was arrested for drunk driving.
In that drunk driving case, police said Perez-Velasquez ran from officers but was eventually caught and charged.
“Had Mr. Perez-Velasquez been detained by ICE after his October 2019, DUI arrest, a life might have been spared,” Acting ICE Director Matt Albence told CNY Central. “Sanctuary jurisdictions that do not honor detainers or allow us access to jails and prisons are shielding criminal aliens from immigration enforcement and jeopardizing the lives of law-abiding citizens.”
Wayne County officials confirmed that Perez-Velasquez was not turned over to ICE due to a series of legal complications, and instead was given an order to appear in court.
Republicans Working to End Biden-era Regulation That Funded Travel for Illegal Alien Minors Who Were Getting Abortions
Florida executes Richard Barry Randolph, convicted of raping, killing former convenience store manager
Nydia Velazquez, first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress, announces 2026 retirement
Rescue operation underway after possible overboard incident on Carnival Cruise ship
Fate of Abrego Garcia hangs as judge grills DOJ on removal order
Thune attempt to alter controversial ‘Arctic Frost’ provision blocked
CDC Declares ‘the Possibility That Infant Vaccines Cause Autism’ Has Not Been Ruled Out in Major Messaging Shift
DOJ sues Newsom over California giving illegal immigrants college tuition benefits
Maryland grand jury investigating handling of Schiff mortgage fraud inquiry: Source
Watch: James Comer Brings Hard Evidence to House Floor After Hakeem Jeffries Calls Him a ‘Stone-Cold Liar’
Russia and Ukraine worked ‘equally’ with US counterparts on peace deal for a month, Leavitt says
‘Peak Irony’ Riley Gaines Fires Back Against Megan Rapinoe’s Attack on the ‘Save Women’s Sports’ Movement
New York leaders condemn ‘intifada’ chants targeting a synagogue led by a Holocaust survivor
GOP wrestles with Obamacare fix as Trump looms over subsidy fight
Leavitt does damage control after ‘frustrated’ Trump lashes out at reporter and calls for executing Democrats
ICE officials confirmed that Perez-Velasquez was previously arrested by Border Patrol agents in May 2007 after illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. He was nearly immediately deported back to his native Guatemala, but returned to the U.S. at an unknown date.
Perez-Velasquez is currently being held on a $50,000 bond and ICE has issued a detainer requesting that should he be released from local custody at any time that he be turned over to federal immigration officials for arrest and deportation.
Story cited here.









