Federal officials have determined the three men accused of shooting and killing a Manassas man in May are illegal immigrants.
One of those three, Sebastian Cortes-Hernandez, 24, also known as “Onion” and “Cebolla,” returned to the United States after being deported to Mexico in 2003.
On May 31, Omar Florencio-Vazquez, 24, was at the Grant Avenue Shopping Center in Manassas with two of his brothers and a cousin when they spotted a group of 12 men they had been in a fight with two weeks earlier, court records show.
Ruben Florencio-Vazquez testified during a preliminary hearing last week that the brothers were leaving to avoid a confrontation, but as they exited, Santos Ontiveros, 24, and Jose Antonio Ontiveros, 27, broke off from the group and attacked Omar. Santos allegedly punched him in the face, and Jose allegedly threatened him with a knife.
Ruben said he used a stick to defend his brother, but that Cortes-Hernandez pulled out a handgun, fired four shots, and hit Omar in the back, chest and thigh. Omar died at the scene.
All three men, Cortes-Hernandez and the two Ontiveroses, have been charged with first-degree murder, and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer has been placed on each.
Following the shooting, the three illegal immigrants disappeared and became the subjects of a national manhunt that led U.S. Marshals to Meriden, Conn., where they were arrested.
According to the Federation for Immigration Reform, a group that favors tight border control to stop illegal immigration, Meriden and the New Haven, Conn., area have experienced a population boom fueled by immigrants flooding into the area. Since 2000 the population has climbed by 14,000, even as domestic-born residents have moved out. More than 90 percent of the growth has been fueled by immigrants, census records reviewed by FAIR show.
The charges pending against the three illegals have been sent to a grand jury for review, and an indictment is expected in September, Prince William officials said.
