Drunk driver in fatal Miami crash deported before trial – NBC 6 South Florida

The search for justice has been temporarily or permanently paused for three Miami-Dade families who lost three of their loved ones in a plane crash in West Flagler in 2022.

Paola Sabillon, her boyfriend Jason Meza and his cousin Giselle Reyes were the passengers who succumbed to their injuries when Erwin Rommel Recinos Zuniga crashed into a gas station sign in Miami, according to police.

Zuniga, 28, was arrested and charged with 10 counts, including three counts of DUI manslaughter and three counts of negligent homicide. Police said he tested positive for THC and was driving at 203 km/h when he crashed.

Against the wishes of the victim's family, Zuniga was reportedly placed under house arrest while awaiting trial.

But after two years of hoping for justice, the victims' relatives were stunned to learn this week that immigration authorities had deported the suspected murderer to Honduras last week.

“He is being deported. He is alive. He is sleeping. He sees his family. My sister stopped growing at 19,” said Miriam Castillo, Sabillon's sister.

Records obtained by NBC6 show that Zuniga “violated the rules and regulations of the Monitored Release Bureau – House Arrest Program.” He was arrested on new charges related to his immigration status. The details of those charges were not disclosed.

“According to his attorney, his parole officer called him to change the battery on his ankle bracelet. He showed up. Immigration was already there. He was arrested. The officer removed the ankle bracelet and let him go,” Castillo said, based on information she received in court during a hearing to announce the trial date for the man accused of killing her sister.

In a statement to NBC6, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said, “Zuniga was a Honduran citizen living in the country illegally who was deported on September 6,” adding, “The deportation was made pursuant to a final order signed by an immigration judge of the Executive Office of Immigration Review on August 27.”

“I have lost the last bit of faith in the justice system,” said Jailene Najera, Sabillo’s sister.

In addition to the family, the prosecutors were also shocked when they learned of the deportation in court.

“This deportation, which robbed the victims' families of justice, could have been avoided if those responsible for his release under community supervision had simply notified the court and the district attorney's office of their intent to release him. However, no such notification was given,” District Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle told NBC6. “The families of the young victims and the people of Miami-Dade County understandably feel betrayed by this type of government failure.”

What the next steps will be is still unclear, but prosecutors say they will work with the federal government to find the defendant and bring him to Miami.

The Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office declined to comment.

The Miami-Dade Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the agency responsible for overseeing the house arrest programs, also declined to comment.