Illegal Alien Gets 20 Years in Prison for Killing Nashville Restaurateur



Tennessee Highway Patrol/The Tennessean

by John Binder 27 Jul 2026

An illegal alien who crossed the southern border under the Biden administration has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing 42-year-old Matthew Carney, the owner of Smokin Thighs restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, in a hit-and-run crash in June 2024.

This week, illegal alien Ulises Raigoza-Martinez of Mexico was sentenced for killing Carney on June 19, 2024, in the parking lot of Smokin Thighs. Last week, Raigoza-Martinez pleaded guilty to murder, theft, and tampering with evidence.

According to police, Raigoza-Martinez was driving through the restaurant’s parking lot when he stopped at a pickup truck to steal tools. The truck belonged to Carney, who eventually confronted the illegal alien.

That is when Raigoza-Martinez took off in his vehicle and struck Carney, who became pinned to the hood of the vehicle. When Raigoza-Martinez made a turn, Carney was thrown from the hood. The restauranteur died from his injuries at a nearby hospital.

“This criminal illegal alien pleaded guilty to murder, theft, and tampering with evidence after he ran over and killed Matt Carney in Nashville, Tennessee,” the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Lauren Bis said:

This criminal illegal alien should never have been in our country to commit this heinous murder.

We will work with our state and local partners in Tennessee to ensure that he is handed over to ICE custody once his sentence is complete, so that we can remove him from our country. [Emphasis added]

Carney’s obituary describes him as a “joyful spirit” with a “loud laugh and his smile that lit up the room.”

“His friends knew him as the life of the party, with his positive attitude, jokes, and loyalty to those he loved,” the obituary reads. “He loved big. Matt was happiest when outside on his boat with friends and family, rock crawling in his KRX side by side, pushing dirt at Highwater or wrenching in the garage with his dog, Mr. Kitty.”

Carney leaves behind his wife Molly, his parents Clifford Carney and Debra Taylor, his brother Adam Carney, sister Katelin Jeffers, step-brother Donald Hall, step-sister Kim Kuster, grandmother Patricia Carney, as well as several nieces and nephews.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2...-restaurateur/