Death Penalty Sought For New Brunswick Murder Suspect

SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI — Prosecutors in Springfield, Missouri are now seeking the death penalty for a New Brunswick man accused of shooting five people, killing three, in a murder spree there last year, according to MyCentralJersey.

The suspect is Luis Perez, 24, pictured above. Perez is a Mexican national who is living in the U.S. illegally, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. His case drew widespread attention because, before his alleged killing spree, Perez was an inmate at the Middlesex County jail, but was released because Middlesex County does not honor ICE detainer holds.

"Had ICE's detainer request been honored by the Middlesex County jail, Luis Rodrigo Perez would have been placed in deportation proceedings and likely sent home to his country – and three innocent people might be alive today," said ICE Acting Executive Associate Director Corey Price last year when the murders happened.

Perez was released by the county jail in February of 2018. At some point after that, he moved to the Midwest. In November of 2018, Missouri prosecutors say he shot to death Aaron "Joshua" Hampton, Steven Marler and Sabrina Starr in Springfield, Missouri.

Hampton and Marler are his former roommates; police say the two kicked him out and Perez returned to the home and opened fire on them in retaliation. Hampton and Marler died at the scene. Two other people who were in the home that day were also shot multiple times by Perez, but survived with serious injuries, police said.

Starr allegedly supplied Perez with the gun he used; he shot her after killing the two men, police say.

According to MyCentralJersey, Perez rejected a plea deal with Missouri prosecutors that would have put him in prison for life. That's when prosecutors announced this week they were seeking the death penalty.

The story of Luis Perez

In December 2017, Perez was arrested in New Brunswick, where he was living at the time, on domestic violence charges. He was held at the Middlesex County jail, located off Rt. 130 in North Brunswick.

As he was suspected of being in this country illegally, at the time of his arrest ICE sent the county jail a detainer request that Perez be held there until they could pick him up. Additionally, ICE also requested that they be notified should the jail decide to release him.

But the Middlesex County jail does not comply with ICE "courtesy holds," as they are often called, unless the detainee has previously been convicted of a first- or second-degree offense. A first- or second-degree offense consists of the most serious crimes, such as murder, drug distribution, carjacking and sex assault. Additionally, a detainee must have been convicted — and not simply be a suspect — to be released.

Under the jail's policy, a domestic violence charge would not be enough for Middlesex County to hold Perez for ICE.

This was a policy voted on and approved in June of 2017 by the Middlesex County Board of elected Freeholders, which oversee county jail operations. Read: Middlesex County: Why We Don't Comply With ICE Courtesy Holds

According to John Tsoukaris, ICE field director in Newark, the Middlesex County jail ignored the detainer request and released Perez into the community, without notifying ICE, in February of 2018. The Missouri murders happened nine months later, in November of that year.

When contacted by Patch, Middlesex County officials acknowledged that yes, they specifically chose not to hold Perez when ICE asked them to. But they also fired back that ICE had 51 days to come and collect him with an order from a federal judge, which they failed to obtain.

That's a procedural "may-I" step ICE, operating nationwide, rarely bothers to take. Even under the Obama administration, ICE rarely obtained federal immigration warrants and routinely relied on detainer-hold agreements with local county jails.

"In the instance of Luis Perez, ICE was advised on Dec. 14, 2017 that the county would not honor a detainer request that was made that day, because the criteria of having previously been convicted of a first- or second-degree offense had not been met," said Middlesex County in a statement provided by a county spokeswoman.

"Luis Perez then remained in custody for an additional 51 days where ICE took no action whatsoever, even though they had every right and ability to request an order of deportation from a federal judge," she continued. "Instead ICE officials chose to do nothing, which places all responsibility of Mr. Perez's actions squarely upon ICE."

The issue of these ICE detainer holds is an increasingly thorny one: This year New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, acting at Gov. Phil Murphy's behest, ordered all county jails to not renew their ICE detainer hold agreements. This was seen as a pushback by Murphy against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

However, as Patch has reported, some county jails, such as Monmouth and Cape May counties, defied Murphy. It was just revealed this summer that Republican sheriffs in those two counties quietly ordered their jails to continue working with ICE and to continue transferring custody of inmates suspected of illegal immigration. Additionally, the Ocean County Board of Freeholders announced in July they plan to sue Murphy and Grewal over the order, arguing the state government cannot override the federal government. A month later, Old Bridge Township said they will be filing a similar lawsuit.

Last summer, ICE picked up 37 illegal aliens in Middlesex County, 16 of which had previously been held at the county jail and released. Those included a Mexican national wanted by Perth Amboy police for murder, a 21-year-old citizen of Turkey wanted in South Brunswick for burglary and a Honduran citizen wanted in New Brunswick for aggravated assault and weapons possession.

"In this most recent case, Perez had a violent history, but despite that, the detainer was not honored," said ICE's Newark field director Tsoukaris. "We hope that this tragic turn of events forces Middlesex to reconsider its policy and that the local elected officials stop protecting criminal aliens."

Ongoing Patch reporting on ICE detainer holds in New Jersey:

Old Bridge Prepares To Sue Murphy Over Immigration Order (Aug. 2019)

Monmouth County Sheriff Defies Murphy's Order On ICE Cooperation (July 12, 2019)

ICE Criticizes Middlesex County Jail For Releasing Murder Suspect (Nov. 12, 2018)

Man Wanted In NJ Killed 3 People In Shooting Spree, Police Say (Nov. 3, 2018)

Middlesex County: Why We Don't Comply With ICE Courtesy Holds (July 18, 2018)

ICE Arrests 37 Immigrants In 'Sanctuary' Middlesex County (July 16, 2018)

ICE Arrests 36 In Middlesex County, All Just Released From County Jail (Oct. 24, 2017)