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Feds say driver charged with two deaths here illegally
By Jared Allen, jallen@nashvillecitypaper.com
October 24, 2006

Federal authorities on Monday placed an immigration hold on the man Metro police arrested and charged with the Saturday morning deaths of a South Nashville father and his 2-year-old son during an auto accident at the intersection of Murfreesboro Pike and Bell Road.

Jonathan Narvaez-Pena, 22, of 1211 Bell Road, was arrested and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide by intoxication after police say the Buick Park Avenue he was driving “recklessly” ran a red light and slammed into the driver’s side of a Ford Contour driven by Antione Bumvu, 43, of 500 Piccadilly Row, police said.

Bumvu, along with his 2-year-old son, Eddy, were killed during the crash. Bumvu’s wife, Josephine, 40, and his 6-month-old son, Tony, were seriously injured.

Narvaez-Pena and his daughter, 2-year-old Hillary Narvaez, received non-critical injuries.

The initial collision resulted in a chain reaction that swept up four additional vehicles. A total of eleven people were transported to hospitals.

According to witness statements collected by police, Narvaez-Pena was driving recklessly, speeding and running red lights as he traveled South on Murfreesboro Pike.

Narvaez-Pena himself admitted to officers that he had consumed multiple shots of tequila prior to the crash, police said.

Over the weekend, Narvaez-Pena was held in lieu of $2 million bond at the Davidson County jail.

During the standard booking process, members of the Sheriff’s Office learned that Narvaez-Pena was born outside of the United States, Sheriff’s Office officials said Monday.

That prompted the Sheriff’s Office to send an immediate inquiry to the federal government’s immigration database in Vermont.

On Monday afternoon, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) notified the Sheriff’s Office that Narvaez-Pena is likely in the country illegally. The federal government immediately placed a hold on Narvaez-Pena, which will prevent him from making bond.

Police and court records show that Narvaez-Pena has one prior arrest in Davidson County for driving without a license in February of 2005. He was not jailed for that offense.

But the Sheriff’s Office, along with District Attorney Torry Johnson and Police Chief Ronal Serpas, have used cases similar to Narvaez-Pena’s to lobby for Nashville’s entry into a federal program designed to let local jail officials immediately learn the immigration status of arrestees born outside the United States.

Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Rick Gentry on Monday said the program – called the Delegation of Authority Program – while sought after, would not have prevented Narvaez-Pena from being on the street because he had never previously been booked into the Davidson County jail.

Narvaez-Pena is scheduled to have his first appearance in Davidson County General Sessions Court on Thursday.


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