U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer against Mauricio Josue Alberto Sarmiento, a Honduran national charged in a fatal hit-and-run in Sylva, North Carolina. The incident resulted in the death of 51-year-old James Robert Bagley III.
According to the Sylva Police Department, Sarmiento struck Bagley with his vehicle early on August 2. First responders found Bagley unresponsive in the street, and he later died from his injuries. Five days after the incident, on August 7, police arrested Sarmiento.
Sarmiento faces charges including felony hit-and-run resulting in serious injury or death, no liability insurance, driving with a revoked license, and exceeding safe speed. He also had an outstanding arrest order in Jackson County, North Carolina.
ICE stated that Sarmiento entered the United States illegally through Texas in October 2021 as an unaccompanied minor. U.S. Border Patrol apprehended him upon entry, and he was subsequently released into the country to an unrelated sponsor under the Biden administration's policies, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
ICE lodged the detainer with the Jackson County Jail on the same day Sarmiento was arrested. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized the situation, stating that the agency is "asking officials in Jackson County to cooperate and not release this criminal from jail without notifying ICE." He added, "if it weren’t for the Biden Administration’s disastrous open borders, James Bagley would still be alive."
Sylva Police Chief Aimee Sumner confirmed the charges against Sarmiento and stated that he remains in custody at the Jackson County Detention Center. Regarding the ICE detainer, Sumner indicated that her department was not involved in that process and referred inquiries to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.