Unlawful Immigrant Charged With Fatally Capturing Bystander

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Dan Gooding is a Newsweek reporter primarily based in New York Metropolis. His focus is reporting on immigration and border safety. He has lined immigration points extensively, together with the foundation causes of migration to the U.S., its impression on border communities and responses across the nation. Dan joined Newsweek in 2024 from The Impartial and beforehand labored at The Messenger, Enterprise Insider and in U.Ok. native radio. He’s a graduate of De Montfort College in Leicester, UK. You may get in contact with Dan by emailing d.gooding@newsweek.com. You will discover him on X @DanGooding. Languages: English.

Dan Gooding

Politics Reporter

An unlawful immigrant with a recognized felony historical past was arrested on murder prices in Washington state following a monthslong investigation into the dying of a male bystander in a drive-by capturing.

Francisco J. Gallegos-Barbosa, 29, was detained by the Auburn Police Division on February 5. He has reportedly been deported from america beforehand and has hyperlinks to the Rancho San Pedro gang.

Newsweek reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for remark by way of e mail Wednesday.

The Context

Unlawful immigrant crime was a focus of President Donald Trump’s 2024 election marketing campaign. These within the nation illegally with gang affiliations are one of many major targets for the administration’s mass deportation program, which has polled extremely amongst each Republican and Democrat voters.

A New York Instances/Ipsos ballot carried out from January 2 to 10 discovered 55 p.c of voters strongly or considerably supported deportations. Eighty-eight p.c supported “Deporting immigrants who’re right here illegally and have felony data.” Giant majorities of each Democrats and Republicans agreed that the immigration system is damaged.

What To Know

Auburn Police Division’s investigation started on September 3, 2024, when officers have been known as out to a welfare test within the metropolis, which become a homicide investigation. They discovered 35-year-old Travis Jones with a deadly gunshot wound.

The sufferer was considered an harmless bystander in a gang-related drive-by capturing. Cops analyzed a number of shell casings from the scene, in addition to surveillance footage, and recognized Gallegos-Barbosa as the motive force of the automobile seen dashing previous Jones when the capturing occurred.

The suspect had additionally despatched a number of messages with different suspects, discussing the capturing and his consciousness that police have been searching for him, police stated. Officers caught up with him on February 5, and he was charged with second-degree homicide and illegal possession of a firearm.

Auburn PD stated in a press launch that Gallegos-Barbosa had a felony historical past, together with felony convictions for illegal firearm possession. He was sentenced in October 2023 to 364 days in jail on an obstruction conviction however solely served 30 days of that sentence, in keeping with native media studies.

Gallegos-Barbosa was deported at the least as soon as from the U.S., in keeping with Fox 13 Seattle, however managed to return to Auburn. His nationality was not clear on the time of publication.

The Rancho San Pedro gang, which the suspect is reportedly linked to, is a Mexican American road gang from the Rancho San Pedro space of San Pedro, California. ICE not too long ago carried out an operation in Los Angeles focusing on recognized members of the group who have been suspected of finishing up firearms and drug trafficking.

What Folks Are Saying

The Auburn Police Division, in a press launch: “The Auburn Police Division commends the dedication and exhausting work of the detectives, and all personnel concerned on this investigation.”

What Occurs Subsequent

Gallegos-Barbosa was booked into the King County Jail on a $2 million bond. His subsequent court docket date was not available.