Federal immigration officials have lodged a detainer against a 21-year-old Anaheim man accused of killing one driver and injuring another in Placentia while fleeing police in January, saying he is an undocumented immigrant from Colombia.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said this week that it lodged the detainer against Darwin Felipe Bahamon Martinez on Jan. 22.
A detainer is a request from ICE asking law enforcement agencies to notify immigration officials before they release an undocumented immigrant and to hold the person for up to 48 hours longer so that federal immigration authorities may assume custody.
“Bahamon Martinez illegally entered the U.S. near Chula Vista, California, in August 2023,” ICE’s Los Angeles field office said.
On Jan. 21, officers patrolling in the area of Miraloma Way and Lawrence Avenue, around 7:40 p.m., saw a Jeep Gladiator driving recklessly, Anaheim police have said.
The short-bed pickup truck accelerated after the driver saw the police, hit a parked car and almost hit the officers’ car, police said. The Jeep was pulled over, police said, but as Anaheim officers walked toward the Jeep, it sped off and the pursuit ensued.
After entering Placentia, the Jeep hit a Honda sedan that had entered the intersection of Madison and Bradford avenues, Placentia police have said.
The Jeep continued westbound on Madison, authorities said, hitting a Dodge minivan traveling in the opposite direction before police took Bahamon Martinez into custody.
The Honda’s driver, a 59-year-old Placentia man, died at the scene, and the Dodge driver, an 83-year-old Placentia woman, was hospitalized with minor injuries, authorities said.
Bahamon Martinez has pleaded not guilty to evading a peace officer causing death and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, both felonies.