Illegal Immigrant released by ICE allegedly skipped immigration hearing before committing murder

PLEASANT HILL, CA - Pablo Jose Gutierrez-Morales, a 31-year-old illegal immigrant, was arrested in May and charged with the murder of a California man he allegedly stabbed to death just weeks after failing to report for an immigration hearing. Reportedly, Gutierrez-Morales was released by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) upon entering the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was under monitoring until he was removed from the program.

As reported by The Daily Caller News Foundation, Gutierrez-Morales allegedly killed Santiago Jacobo, a Parks employee of Pleasant Hill in what has been characterized as a "love triangle" killing by The Antioch Herald. 

Gutierrez-Morales and two other suspects, Vanessa Vera-Aguilar, 24, and Jazmin Ruiz, 25, were placed under arrest following a three-month-long investigation. Detectives allege that Gutierrez-Morales was interested in Jacobo's former girlfriend, his fellow suspect Vera-Aguilar, and was pursuing her romantically. 

An ICE spokesman who spoke to The Daily Caller revealed that Gutierrez-Morales, a Nicaraguan national, entered the U.S. illegally in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas Sector on July 11, 2022.

The spokesman explained, "Pablo Jose Gutierrez-Morales, an unlawfully present 31-year-old Nicaraguan national, was encountered by U.S. Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas Sector on July 11, 2022. He was paroled into the U.S. and monitored by ICE’s Alternatives to Detention (ATD) with instructions to report to Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Los Angeles for reporting."

The statement from the ICE spokesman continued, "On Aug. 22, 2022, he reported to ERO Los Angeles and was terminated from the ATD program with future reporting requirements."
 

As previously noted, the Nicaraguan illegal immigrant failed to present himself for his hearing on January 24th, and a few weeks later on February 10th, he allegedly murdered Jacobo.

The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office is currently holding Gutierrez-Morales without bail. Although ICE confirmed that they have filed a detainer order against him, Contra Costa County is reportedly listed as a “sanctuary” jurisdiction by the Center for Immigration Studies due to a 2014 policy restricting compliance with ICE detainers.

Captain Matt Kristic of the Pleasant Hill Police Department told the Herald, “An external document was sent to MDF from ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement). But all three suspects were booked on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.”