Latest news with #Pleitez
New York Post
03-08-2025
- New York Post
Weeping relatives, friends gather at wake to remember NJ mom and daughter killed in head-on crash with illegal migrant
More than 150 mourners gathered Saturday to remember the mother and her 11-year-old daughter tragically killed in a head-on crash with an allegedly drunk illegal immigrant driver. Sobbing and weeping relatives and friends — many of them, donning shirts with images of Maria Pleitez and little Dayanara Cortes' beaming faces — lined up outside the Lakewood Funeral Home in Howell to pay their respects at a somber wake. At one point, a mourner who'd been crying uncontrollably leaned over the 42-year-old mother's open casket, and repeated the phrases '¡Qué fuerte!' ('How terrible' in English) and 'Porque?,' the Spanish word for 'Why?,' over and over again. Advertisement 3 Over 150 people gathered at the Lakewood Funeral Home in Howell, New Jersey, to pay their respects to remember the mother and her 11-year-old daughter, tragically killed in a head-on crash. Leonardo Munoz Among those grieving the two devastating deaths was Dayanara's father and her friend, also 11, who was injured in the July 26 crash and is recovering. Pleitez was driving the two girls to a Wawa to get milkshakes at around 11:20 p.m. in Lakewood when Raul Luna-Perez, 43, slammed his Dodge Durango into the mom's Nissan Sentra, according to local prosecutors. Advertisement She was killed instantly, and Dayanara, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, died soon after arriving at the hospital. Luna-Perez was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and assault by auto. Charges could be added once prosecutors receive the results of an alcohol blood level test. 3 Maria Pleitez and her daughter Dayanara Cortes were fatally struck by an alleged illegal immigrant, Raul Luna-Perez, 43, who was drunk while driving. Advertisement The Mexican immigrant, who was in the US illegally, had been arrested twice this spring for DUI in Red Bank, NJ — something Pleitez's niece bemoaned at the wake. Maria del Carmen Pleitez told The Post her aunt was a hardworking, cat-loving, doting US citizen who immigrated from El Salvador 24 years ago. 'She was a happy person,' Pleitez, 39, said. 'She would come to a place, or she would come to our homes, and just bring happiness. She was never angry, never sad. She always had the strength to continue going, and that's what hurts, because the guy had two DUIs already.' 3 Family and friends at the wake donned shirts and images of Pleitez and Cortes. Leonardo Munoz Advertisement Maria Pleitez spent years working in the painting department of Superior Promotional Bags, a Toms River promotional products supplier, the niece said. 'She was the head of the family,' Maria del Carmen Pleitez said. 'She was bringing up her two daughters. She had her own apartment, her own place, and she never asked her help for anything. We loved her.' Pleitez's 16-year-old daughter, who stayed home, is heartbroken, she said. 'It's so hard. We still feel like we can't digest everything. Like, you wake up in the morning, you think it's not true.'
CBS News
21-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
2 MS-13 gang members indicted for murder in Maryland
Two alleged La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang members in Maryland were indicted for murder, according to the Department of Justice DOJ. MS-13 is a criminal organization with mostly immigrants from El Salvador, according to the DOJ. Some members operate in Maryland and other states in the U.S. According to court documents, 46-year-old Manuel Erazo Alvarado and Erick Guillen Pleitez, both of Annapolis, were members or associates of MS-13 in Maryland in 2017. The indictment alleges that during that time, both Alvarado and Pleitez distributed narcotics, collected extortion payments or "rent" and engaged in acts of violence. On August 29, 2017, Alvarado and Pleitez murdered a person to maintain and increase their positions in the gang, according to the indictment. According to the DOJ, both men could face mandatory life sentences or a death sentence if convicted. The DOJ said the FBI, Anne Arundel County Police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are investigating the case which is part of Operation Take Back America. The nationwide initiative aims to crack down on illegal immigration in the U.S. Since taking office in January, President Trump has launched an effort to address the issue, which has prompted an increase in ICE arrests and a decrease in border crossings. The Trump administration has rolled back several Biden-era policies, including one that protected immigrants from being arrested by ICE at some sensitive locations like places of worship and schools. The effort has also led to concerns and protests in some Maryland communities. In Baltimore, immigrant rights activists spoke out against "inhumane living conditions" at an ICE facility where they said immigrants were being held. In a statement to WJZ, ICE said the facility runs in compliance with federal laws and upholds "the well-being and dignity of those in our custody." A spokesperson also said the ICE Health Service Corps was on site to provide necessary medical services.
