Man who helped Florida girl bitten by shark may be facing deportation
Luis Alvarez, 31, of Lehigh Acres, in Lee County, Florida, around 140 miles northwest of Miami, was stopped about 1:30 a.m. on June 14 after police say he was driving without his headlights on.
He was driving a gray SUV with a Rhode Island tag, according to the Collier County Sheriff's Office arrest report.
Court records indicate he is being held in jail by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to reporting from the Fort Myers News-Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. He is scheduled to go before a judge on July 9.
USA TODAY has reached out to ICE for more information.
On the day of the arrest, at around 1:30 a.m. local time, police say Alvarez was driving a car without its headlights on when he was pulled over.
When asked for his license, Alvarez called up a picture of his Employment Authorization Card on his phone. He told the arresting officer in Spanish that he had been in the country for two-and-a-half years and had never had a driver's license, according to the arrest report.
Alvarez was arrested on a charge of driving without a license and was issued a warning for not having his headlights on.
The arrest report said Alvarez is from Boaco, Nicaragua. Court records indicate he is being held in jail by ICE.
Court records indicate Alvarez has no arrest history in Collier County. He was arrested on similar charges of not having a valid driver's license four times in Lee County, dating back to December 2023. Lee County is located in southwest Florida along the Gulf Coast.
He paid fines or had adjudication withheld by three different judges. In the most recent case, the judge issued a D6 suspension on June 23, meaning since Alvarez had not paid his fine, he was unable to apply for a license.
Alvarez was on the beach and ran into the water to help on June 11 when Leah Lendel, 9, was bitten by a shark.
Lendel's hand was nearly severed after the attack, which happened in the ocean a few feet off the beach in Boca Grande, Florida.
Lendel's hand was nearly severed, but fast action at the scene and an airlift to Tampa General Hospital allowed surgeons to reattach her hand. She is recovering.
Alvarez went into the water first to scare the shark, her sister Raynel Lugo, who also helped during the rescue, said in an interview with Fox4 News.
"He jumped in that area to bring her out when I was assisting Leah," said Lugo in the Fox4 interview. "He went deep underwater, not even caring about the shark. He went really deep. He probably faced the shark."
Body camera footage from a Lee County Sheriff's Office Deputy who responded to the call shows the three men standing next to the water as Leah was being treated by EMS.
Alvarez, through an interpreter, told first responders it looked like about an eight-foot shark. Experts later said it was possibly a bull shark, one of the more aggressive sharks in Florida waters.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
2 hours ago
- Axios
D.C. resists Trump's takeover — in court and on the streets
D.C. was filled with resistance to President Trump's federal takeover this weekend, with rallies, locals documenting arrests, and a sharper edge from Mayor Muriel Bowser. Why it matters: Washingtonians are navigating daily life under federal control as both sides — the feds and resistance — ramp up their manpower and rhetoric. Catch up quick: Friday fired off with a lawsuit. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued to block Trump's takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department. A federal judge pushed the city and Justice Department to reach an agreement, and the Trump administration relented. MPD Chief Pamela Smith will keep command of 3,100 officers, while U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's appointee for the city's "emergency police commissioner," DEA head Terry Cole, can't issue directives for now. And Bowser is shifting her tone from cool diplomacy to heated pushback, calling Trump's action "an authoritarian push" and posting on her personal X account that "policing American citizens on American soil is #UnAmerican." Friction point: " Trump must go" protests flared over the weekend, drawing action from Dupont Circle to the White House. Social media feeds were filled with video footage of arrests, and empty morning sidewalks — typically crammed with vendors — in Columbia Heights. On Saturday morning, masked federal agents — including one wearing an ICE badge — tackled a moped driver on 14th Street, reports the Washington Post. D.C. police were not involved in the arrest, a spokesperson tells Axios. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an X post that the arrest involved an undocumented immigrant "with suspected gang affiliation" facing a final order of removal. Leavitt said the individual resisted arrest and that a law enforcement officer suffered a concussion. Zoom in: Statehood advocates say police pepper-sprayed activist Afeni Evans during her arrest over Metro fare evasion Saturday, per a statement Free DC shared with Axios, which sparked protests outside the DC Courthouse. She was later released to cheering crowds. MPD told Axios it wasn't involved in the arrest. Metro Transit Police didn't immediately return Axios' request for comment. By the numbers: More than 300 people have now been arrested in the crackdown as of Saturday night, per a White House official. 135 undocumented immigrants have been arrested, and 44 homeless encampments have been cleared. All such camps have now been cleared from federal property, reports U.S. Park Police. Between the lines: Everyday life continued across the city — the Nats played ball, thousands boogied down for Chuck Brown Day — but resistance seeped in. Chants of "Free DC!" erupted during the Spirit's match Friday at Audi Field. Sidewalk chalk messages filled Mount Pleasant — an immigrant hub targeted by ICE. The intrigue: " Sandwich guy" — the now-former DOJ staffer who was arrested for launching a sub at federal agents — is being embraced as a symbol of the resistance. Banksy-style murals popped up in Adams Morgan, while some protestors carried sandwich signs or marched with actual baguettes. What we're watching: Red states from West Virginia to South Carolina pledged to send up to 700 more National Guard troops to D.C., on top of the 800 already deployed. And while the National Guard still isn't making arrests, they may be armed now, per the White House official. "[This is] consistent with their mission and training, to protect federal assets, provide a safe environment for law enforcement officers to make arrests, and deter violent crime with a visible law enforcement presence," says the official. The bottom line: In a late Friday email to constituents, Bowser acknowledged a city in "crisis" and commended citizens for rallying together.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
ICE Arrests TikTok Influencer Who Documented Immigration Raids at Her Home on Livestream
An onlooker attempted to disrupt the detainment of Leidy Tatiana Mafla-Martinez by towing a police vehicle Colombian TikTok influencer Leidy Tatiana Mafla-Martinez was taken into ICE custody while live streaming from her home in Los Angeles. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Martinez was arrested in connection with a prior DUI. Newsweek reported Martinez, who is well-known on TikTok for posting videos that document several ICE arrests, was filmed on Friday seated in her Tesla when agents opened her car door and pulled her onto the pavement. She also appeared to experience a medical event during the arrest, and at one point onlookers are heard demanding treatment for her. More from TheWrap ICE Arrests TikTok Influencer Who Documented Immigration Raids at Her Home on Livestream Gal Gadot Says Hollywood 'Pressure' to Speak Against Israel Affected 'Snow White' Box Office | Video Gavin Newsom Explains the Social Media Strategy Behind His Viral Trump Trolling MrBeast, Adin Ross and xQc Raise $12 Million in 18-Hour TeamWater Charity Livestream The arrest was also briefly interrupted by a man who attempted to tow one of the police cars in the arrest. 'He mocked and videotaped ICE officers chasing after him,' McLaughlin also told Newsweek. 'Secretary Noem has been clear: Anyone who seeks to impede law enforcement will be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.' Martinez was initially transported to White Memorial Hospital and is currently being held in a detention center in downtown Los Angeles. On Thursday, Los Angeles Rep. Jimmy Gomez accused ICE of staging an empty migrant detention center. 'One person was talking to the Mexican consulate who happened to be there, and the other person was just in the cell with their head down on a table or on the table or something. He was just kind of sitting there,' Gomez said of the center he visited recently. Gomez also questioned why the center was so empty despite the numerous arrests made recently. Nearly 2,800 people have been taken into ICE custody since early June. 'They've been running raids, even over the weekend, and all of a sudden there's no one there? That's just completely bizarre,' he told MSNBC's Jen Psaki. The post ICE Arrests TikTok Influencer Who Documented Immigration Raids at Her Home on Livestream appeared first on TheWrap.
CBS News
6 hours ago
- CBS News
Maryland pastor returns home a month after being detained by ICE agents
A Maryland pastor returned home almost a month after he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who said he overstayed his visa by 25 years. Daniel Fuentes Espinal, 54, was granted bond and released from an ICE detention center in Louisiana, according to family friend Len Foxwell. "Pastor Fuentes Espinal and his family are together again for the first time since that terrible morning of July 21, when a pastor and father of three said goodbye to his wife and children, left for work, and never came home," Foxwell said in a social media post on Thursday. The Easton, Maryland, community rallied in support of Fuentes Espinal after he was detained in July while he was on his way to work. Fuentes Espinal is a pastor at Iglesia Del Nazareno Jesus Te Ama and a construction worker. He has lived in the U.S. since 2001 and does not have a criminal record, according to Foxwell. According to ICE, Fuentes Espinal, a Honduran national, "entered the United States on a 6-month visa and never left in 24 years." "It is a federal crime to overstay the authorized period of time granted under a visitor's visa," an ICE spokesperson said. After he was arrested, Fuentes Espinal was taken to a detention center in Salisbury before he was transferred to a facility in Baltimore, then to the Winn Correctional Facility in Louisiana. "He spent three days at a detention center in Baltimore, sleeping on a cold bench with barely enough food to eat," Foxwell said. Foxwell said Fuentes Espinal had little contact with his family while he was detained. "They actually charge $50 for a phone call for a family that's already lost their primary breadwinner. That's a huge financial hit," he said. Shortly after his arrest, activists in Baltimore rallied in support of Fuentes Espinal. "People are leading into that hate, but we can't be doing that anymore. It is too late at this point in the game to hate, and I am imploring everybody to come out here and love instead," said Annalese Estepp, who attended the march that ended near Baltimore ICE's detention center in the George H. Fallon federal building. U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen also offered support, saying his team was working with the Fuentes Espinal family.
