MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Erwin Zúñiga was driving drunk and speeding when he crashed and killed three people about two years ago in Miami-Dade County, according to police.
The families of the three victims, Paola Sabillon, Jason Meza, and Giselle Reyes, want justice. Police officers arrested Zúñiga, also known as Erwin Zuniga, and he was on house arrest.
On Thursday, in court, Miami-Dade Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney Christine E. Zahralban said federal immigration authorities gave Zuniga “a get-out-of-jail free card” when they deported him.
“We need some answers,” Zahralban said during the hearing.
Zahralban presented an affidavit signed by a Miami-Dade corrections officer on July 18 releasing Zuniga from house arrest.
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Zuniga was deported to Honduras on Sept. 6 after a federal judge signed a final order.
Zahralban said corrections released Zuniga and immigration authorities deported him without properly notifying the prosecutors or detectives in the pending case.
“Even on September 12th, it’s still showing him in our custody,” Zahralban said.
Sabillon’s grieving mother, Hellen Castillo, was also in court. Through tears, she talked about her pain with the help of a Spanish-to-English translator.
“We are always going to live with this punishment,” Sabillon said.
Meza was Sabillon’s boyfriend. Reyes was Meza’s cousin. Some of their relatives wore matching shirts with their pictures and were also in tears in the courtroom.
“They know where the ball was dropped and they don’t want to admit it,” Sabillon’s sister Miriam Castillo said.
Prosecutors reported Zuniga is not the only defendant with a pending criminal case who Miami-Dade correctional officers released to ICE before standing trial. A defendant in a child sex crimes case was on his way back to Florida.
Local 10 News has a pending inquiry with the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department.