By Kathleen Miller
Lakeland Ledger
WASHINGTON — An illegal immigrant awaiting a deportation ruling has been charged with killing a nun and critically injuring two others in a drunken-driving crash that has sparked criticism of how immigration enforcement is handled.
A local official in the Virginia suburb where the crash happened and a congressman from another state have criticized federal officials for not removing the suspect from the country after previous arrests, and even U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano questioned why his deportation was taking so long. A spokeswoman for the nuns’ order, meanwhile, said they’re upset that the tragedy is being politicized.
Twenty-three-year-old Carlos Martinelly Montano, who police say is illegally in the country, is charged with drunken driving, involuntary manslaughter and felony driving on a revoked license after the accident on Sunday in Virginia’s Prince William County. Montano, from Bolivia, was arrested two times before and charged with drunken driving, according to county police, and has also been arrested in separate incidents for other traffic-related offenses.
Copyright 2010 Lakeland Ledger Publishing Corporation