The Trump administration’s new chief federal prosecutor in Los Angeles says his office intends to pursue immigration charges against a man awaiting release from state prison after serving time for a 2021 crash on the 405 Freeway that killed a young couple.
Bill Essayli, sworn in as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California earlier this month, focused attention on the case amid reports that the driver, who pleaded guilty to two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, could be freed after serving around three years of a 10-year sentence.
“If the State of California will not seek the full measure of justice against this individual, [the Justice Department] will,” Essayli said in a post on X.
Essayli noted that pending charges — initially filed by his predecessor under the Biden administration — could land Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano in federal prison for up to 20 years if he is convicted of illegally reentering the country after being deported twice previously.
Ortega-Anguiano, now 43, was under the influence of drugs and alcohol and doing nearly 95 mph in November 2021 when, according to court records, his Volkswagen smashed into 19-year-olds Anya Varfolomeev and Nikolay Osokin, who were both killed when their Honda burst into flames.
Fox News said it had reviewed a notice about Ortega-Anguiano sent by the state to Varfolomeev’s father, which reportedly said he could be released to Garden Grove.
State prison records show Ortega-Anguiano is eligible for parole in July and currently housed at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville.
A spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Ortega-Anguiano “received 334 days of pre-sentence credits for time served locally while awaiting sentencing and is eligible for credit-earning opportunities while incarcerated.”
State prisoners often end up serving less time because of credit for rehabilitative programs and good behavior, but the suggestion that Ortega-Anguiano could walk free riled Trump administration officials.
Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi posted on X: “This is absolutely unconscionable. What about Justice for these teens? What about the rights of their parents?”
Border czar Tom Homan vowed to send federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to enforce an agreement known as a detainer, under which local officials hold individuals facing deportation.
“I will work with [Homeland Security] Secretary Noem on this case, and I guarantee you, if they don’t honor the detainer, we’ll have ICE agents outside that facility to take custody of this individual and deport him,” Homan said Wednesday on Fox’s “America’s Newsroom.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office subsequently released a statement pledging to honor the detainer on Ortega-Anguiano, saying that state prison officials “will again coordinate with ICE — as they have w/ 10,000+ inmates — to transfer him before release.”
A spokesperson for ICE said a detainer was placed on June 9, 2022, while Ortega-Anguiano was housed at North Kern State Prison. According to ICE, his previous criminal convictions include burglary in 2005; vehicle theft in 2007; and battery on spouse with kidnapping in 2014.
“This tragedy was completely preventable. This criminal illegal alien should have never been in our country,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement. “We hope California law enforcement will work us to ensure this criminal alien is not released into American communities.”
Court records show a federal arraignment for Ortega-Anguiano on the immigration charge was not held as scheduled on March 10 because he was not transferred as requested from state prison. He has yet to enter a plea in the federal case.
The statement from Newsom’s office pointed out that a Republican district attorney was in charge in Orange County when Ortega-Anguiano entered the plea agreement that led to his current prison sentence. A harsher penalty under second-degree murder charges could have been sought, Newsom’s statement suggested.
Orange County D.A. Todd Spitzer countered with his own statement, which said Ortega-Anguiano “pled to the Court and was sentenced by a judge under California law, over the objection of Orange County prosecutors, who unsuccessfully argued for the maximum sentence.”