Illinois Paroles Man Convicted in Fatal DUI Crash; ICE Arrests Him

Torres-Vasquez, a Mexican national, was sentenced in 2012 after pleading guilty to driving under the influence in a crash that killed Marine veteran Gregory Errol Homola, who was 55, and injured two women, one of them pregnant. His blood alcohol level was 0.28%, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He was convicted of aggravated DUI causing death and two counts of aggravated DUI causing great bodily injury.

DHS said Illinois paroled Torres-Vasquez on November 2, four years before his scheduled release. The agency said he had crossed into the United States without authorization on three or more occasions during the mid-2000s and had a final removal order dating to November 2010, before the crash on July 24, 2011.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement had lodged a detainer with an Illinois prison in 2017, DHS said. After Torres-Vasquez was transferred to another facility, ICE lodged another detainer there. DHS said the facility did not honor it and then let him go without alerting federal immigration personnel.

ICE tracked and arrested Torres-Vasquez on November 11, more than a week after his release. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Illinois officials had refused to cooperate with ICE and said Torres-Vasquez would be deported. The account provided no further details about his custody or deportation timeline.

Illinois Parole Decision Shouldn’t Be Reduced to an ICE Standoff

The case of Vicente Torres-Vasquez has become a flashpoint over state parole and federal immigration enforcement. Illinois released him on parole on November 2, four years before his scheduled release, and ICE arrested him on November 11 after the state did not notify the agency.

Torres-Vasquez was convicted in 2012 after a DUI crash killed Marine veteran Gregory Errol Homola and injured two women. DHS says Torres-Vasquez had a final removal order from 2010 and that ICE lodged detainers at two Illinois prison facilities, including the facility from which he was released.

Those facts warrant scrutiny of the state’s handling of the detainer. But Mullin’s denunciation of Illinois officials turns a specific dispute over a parole release and federal notification into a broad political indictment. The 2011 crash happened before the parole decision; the decision itself did not cause that crime.

ICE tracked Torres-Vasquez and arrested him more than a week after his release. Mullin said he would be deported. The case puts the focus on the practical dispute between state prison procedures and federal immigration enforcement, not on rhetoric that assigns the parole decision responsibility for a past tragedy.

Illinois Ignored ICE Detainers Before Releasing Convicted Killer

Illinois released Vicente Torres-Vasquez despite ICE’s detainer, then failed to notify federal officers, DHS says. The state’s decision allowed a man convicted in a fatal DUI crash to leave prison without ICE taking custody at the time of his parole.

Torres-Vasquez was sentenced in 2012 after a crash killed Marine veteran Gregory Errol Homola and injured two women. DHS says his blood alcohol level was 0.28%, he had a final removal order dating to 2010, and ICE had lodged detainers at two Illinois prison facilities.

The state paroled him on November 2, four years before his scheduled release, DHS said. ICE arrested him on November 11, more than a week later. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Illinois officials refused to cooperate and said Torres-Vasquez would be deported.

A detainer is consequential only if officials act on it. In this case, DHS says the prison released Torres-Vasquez without alerting ICE, leaving federal agents to track him down after he was out. The episode raises a direct public-safety and enforcement question: why was the detainer not honored before his release?