Wilfredo Lopez has been deported three times before, ICE says, most recently in 2015. It’s unknown when he returned to the U.S.
SAN ANTONIO — Federal authorities say they’re seeking an immigration detainer against the man accused of shooting three people, including his girlfriend, at a west-San Antonio apartment before fleeing with three of his children late Sunday night.
Wildfredo Lopez, 40, was captured a short while later. He’s facing charges of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after one of the people police say he shot, his 22-year-old son, died at the hospital.
Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Lopez, also known as Jose Fredi Rivera-Mejia, is a Honduran man who is in the country by illegal means.
“Rivera-Mejia has been removed from the U.S. three times previously,” ICE said, adding he was previously arrested in San Antonio in 2009 for alleged assault and again in 2012 for alleged DWI. Authorities say he was brought back to Honduras within weeks both times before Border Patrol found him “close to Eagle Pass” in the July 2015, where he admitted to again entering illegally days prior.
He was last taken back to Honduras on Aug. 10, 2015, according to ICE; it’s unknown when he returned.
San Antonio police say the man shot his girlfriend, the mother of his children and his eldest son Sunday night before he fled; authorities were still investigating the motive. Given his history of illegal entry into the U.S., ICE said it was requesting the detainer that would keep him in custody for an additional 48 hours before release so that federal authorities have time “to assume custody, in accordance with federal immigration law.”
Immigration detainers are typically sought when an individual in the country illegally represents a public safety or national security threat, according to ICE.
“Criminal aliens present in the U.S. pose a significant threat to our public safety and our citizens,” Miguel Vergara, director of enforcement and removal operations for ICE San Antonio, said in a release. “We will continue to do everything in our power to prevent tragedies like this from occurring and working with our local law enforcement partners so criminals are not released back into our communities.”
Lopez is being held on bonds totaling $850,000, according to online court records. But his charges could still be upgraded depending on the conditions of the two others he’s accused of shooting.