Source: Office of United States Attorneys
TULSA, Okla. – A Mexican national who was residing in Catoosa was indicted for unlawfully reentering the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
Carlos Ambriz Estrada, 53, is charged with Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien after having been previously removed in January 2006.
“After serving time in prison for killing his 38-day-old son, Ambriz Estrada was deported. That did not stop him from unlawfully returning to the United States and living in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Prosecutors are working in coordinated efforts with law enforcement to help keep the citizens in the Northern District safe from violent criminals like Ambriz Estrada.”
“This subject’s criminal record underscores the significant danger he represents to our community, particularly with the serious charge and conviction for killing his own child,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Field Office acting Director Josh Johnson. “Our officers remain committed to enhancing public safety by apprehending and removing criminal aliens who violate immigration laws.”
According to court documents, in March, the Fugitive Operations Team with Immigration Customs Enforcement began investigating Ambriz Estrada due to his prior conviction of deliberate homicide in Montana and the possibility of him being present in the United States unlawfully. Law enforcement discovered that Ambriz Estrada was unlawfully living in Catoosa and that he did not have permission to re-enter the United States after being removed.
In 1994, Ambriz Estrada pleaded guilty to deliberate homicide. Montana law enforcement was dispatched to the hospital to investigate apparent child abuse. Ambriz Estrada and his wife brought their 36-day-old baby to the hospital for treatment.
The detective spoke with a doctor who confirmed that the baby had five broken ribs, detached retinas in both eyes, swelling of the head, bruises on the neck and abdomen, consistent with strangulation. The doctor reported that they believed the baby was strangled and without oxygen for some time, likely causing severe brain damage.
When being interviewed, Ambriz Estrada admitted that he was angry with his wife and took it out on the baby. That while the baby was crying, he squeezed the child’s throat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the baby lost consciousness. Afterward, he put the baby in a crib. The baby woke up crying one hour later, and Ambriz Estrada admitted to picking up the baby and shaking him. Ambriz Estrada told detectives the baby’s breathing was irregular and appeared to have a seizure.
After two days in intensive care, the baby had no brain activity and was declared brain dead at 38 days old.
Ambriz Estrada was ordered to 40 years imprisonment and served nearly 10 years. After being released in 2006, Ambriz Estrada was deported.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations and the Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ammon Brisolara is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).