Updated 8:52 PM;Today 5:20 PM



By Chris Libonati

WEEDSPORT, N.Y. -- A 31-year-old undocumented immigrant charged in a fatal Cayuga County crash may have previously been deported from the United States, according to Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the Guatemalan man - Heriberto R. Perez-Velasquez - was deported in 2007, the DA said Tuesday.

Perez-Velasquez has denied he was once deported and said he has lived in the United States since 2012, Budelmann said.

Perez-Velasquez was arrested after the car he was driving hit a compact tractor Sunday driven by Mark Knapp, 59, of Hamilton Street, Weedsport, according to the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office. Knapp was thrown from the tractor and died at the scene, deputies said.

Perez-Velasquez has been charged with vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday.

Perez-Velasquez does not have a driver’s license, the DA said.

In October, Perez-Velasquez was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest charges in Wayne County, Budelmann said.

Authorities have not found any other DWIs or other charges against Perez-Velasquez, the DA said.

Perez-Velasquez is accused of driving into the back of the compact tractor at about 1:45 p.m. Sunday on Route 31 in Weedsport.

After the crash, the suspect fled the scene on foot, leaving his 2010 Chevy Cobalt behind, deputies said. He was arrested a short distance away with the help of a private citizen, they said.

Perez-Velasquez was arraigned in the Village of Weedsport Court and committed to the Cayuga County Jail in lieu of $50,000 cash or $100,00 bond.

https://www.syracuse.com/crime/2019/...ince-2012.html