Suspected Tren de Aragua member released on probation in domestic battery case despite 2022 deportation order
An illegal immigrant and suspected gang member is out on probation, free to roam the streets of Chicago even though he has been charged with domestic battery, has a previous weapons charge in Cook County and was ordered deported in 2022.
Pedro Colmenares, a 33-year-old suspected Tren de Aragua gang member from Venezuela entered the U.S. in September 2022 and was ordered deported by an immigration judge in November of that year, according to DHS. While appealing the deportation ruling, he ended up in Chicago.
Two years after the deportation ruling, Colmenares was back on DHS' radar after a weapons charge in the Chicago area last October. DHS issued an ICE detainer on Colmenares, but because of its sanctuary policy, Cook County refused to comply with the detainer, and Colmenares was set free.
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Colmenares was taken into custody once again this week for three days and was questioned by Chicago Police about his suspected involvement in the shooting death of a 25-year-old Hispanic man last September.
Chicago police said probable cause existed to place the illegal migrant into custody for murder earlier this week, but ultimately the Cook County State's Attorney's office declined to press homicide charges, explaining they "carefully reviewed" the case and found insufficient evidence and "uncooperative witnesses."
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Colmenares is facing charges in a shocking kidnapping and sexual assault of his former girlfriend last October in Chicago. He is charged with domestic battery with bodily harm for allegedly pulling up in a car to the 27-year-old Hispanic woman and telling her to get in "or I'll shoot you."
Police say he then drove the woman against her will to a separate location on Chicago's west side, where he allegedly "battered and sexually assaulted the victim" over several days.
Colmenares was ordered to appear in-person before a judge on March 5 in Chicago. He was ordered to surrender weapons and stay away from the domestic abuse victim, according to a court document, but he was not assigned electronic monitoring.Original article source: Suspected Tren de Aragua member released on probation in domestic battery case despite 2022 deportation order
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