Six men identified by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office as Guatemalan nationals who are in the United States illegally were arrested during an investigation into the death of a 21-year-old man at a Florida mobile home park over the weekend.
Deputies responded early Sunday to a 911 call at the Willow Oak Mobile Home Park in Polk County and found a 21-year-old man dead inside his home. The sheriff’s office said the victim’s injuries were "consistent with being run over by a vehicle." The department’s Traffic Unit determined the victim had been struck in a driveway late Saturday during a party at one of the trailers where "nearly everyone" was drinking.
A witness told traffic homicide detectives that Ponciano Cinto-Ramirez, 52, got into a van parked in the driveway, put it into reverse, backed over the man and then drove away, the sheriff’s office said. According to the witness account, partygoers shouted at Cinto-Ramirez to alert him that he had run over someone, but he continued to lot No. 32 and entered a trailer there. At some point, deputies said, the victim was taken back into his home; law enforcement has not provided details on how he was moved or who moved him.
Deputies went to the trailer at lot No. 32 to speak with Cinto-Ramirez and found "several people inside" who initially refused to come outside, the sheriff’s office said. "Eventually, one by one, they came outside but refused to give deputies information or cooperate," the department added. Two men who emerged provided false identification to deputies, and later in-custody interviews established that all six men arrested are in the United States illegally, the agency said, a status it said "enhances their charges."
Ponciano Cinto-Ramirez was booked on felony counts of resisting arrest, driving without a license causing death and leaving the scene of a crash involving death. Rigoberto Lopez Morales, 22, and Jacinto Lopez Morales, 46, were charged with resisting arrest. Alfredo Cinto-Ramirez, 48, and Leonel Cinto Lopez, 24, face charges of resisting arrest and providing false information to law enforcement. Ramiro Cinto Lopez, 23, was charged with resisting arrest, giving false information and possession of an altered firearm.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the six men "are facing serious felonies" and that all are being held on Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers with the goal of deportation. "What started out as a neighborhood party ended up with a 21-year-old man dead and a group of illegal aliens going to jail," Judd said in a statement.
Law enforcement officials did not identify the 21-year-old victim and did not provide details on any pending homicide or vehicular manslaughter charges beyond those filed so far. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said its Traffic Unit is leading the death investigation and that the case remains active.
The Willow Oak Mobile Home Park has been the site of repeated police responses to "large gatherings" in recent years, according to local media, though the sheriff’s office did not say whether the group involved in this weekend’s incident had a prior record of complaints. The agency also noted that giving false information to officers and resisting arrest were among the behaviors encountered when deputies first made contact with occupants of the trailer.
Authorities said the arrests and the ICE holds do not end the criminal investigation into the circumstances that led to the victim being struck. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office asked anyone with information about the incident to contact its Traffic Unit; further legal proceedings and potential federal immigration actions were pending as investigators continue to gather evidence.