Norlan Estrada-Reyes, a Honduran man living in the U.S. unlawfully, pleaded guilty to a felony charge Thursday of a young, promising Denver lawyer.
In a case that contributed to, the 28-year-old admitted to leaving the scene of a crash involving death, a Class 3 felony. In exchange, prosecutors dropped four other counts Estrada-Reyes was facing.
“There are no sentence concessions on this case,” Denver Chief Deputy District Attorney Julie Hill told the court in announcing the guilty plea. “The sentencing range is four to 12 years.”
Estrada-Reyes was driving a full-size Ford pickup truck at the intersection of East 13th Avenue and Broadway on Oct. 30
He was deported to Honduras in 2007 but returned to the U.S. and was twice arrested in Denver — including for suspicion of driving under the influence — before police say he killed Pulec.
In late February, Estrada-Reyes to illegally re-entering the U.S. after previously being deported. He was sentenced to the 45 days he served in federal detention after being picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Then in March, Denver District Judge Shelley Gilman raised bail for Estrada-Reyes from $20,000 to $1 million before he faced charges in the hit-and-run case.
Estrada-Reyes, his hair cut short and wearing army-green jail dress, spoke to the court through an interpreter, his head bowed at times. “Culpable,” he said — Spanish for “guilty” — in admitting his fault.
“Do you understand that if you are not a citizen of this country, there are deportation consequences (to pleading guilty), including deportation?” Gilman asked.
“Si,” Estrada-Reyes said.
Pulec . She was a graduate of the University of Colorado and attended law school at Cornell University in New York.
Pulec’s family was in court Thursday as Estrada-Reyes pleaded guilty.
Estrada-Reyes turned himself in to Denver police four days after the crash and, according to federal court documents, immigration officers interviewed him the next day before he was later released after posting bond. On Dec. 5, he was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside the Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse downtown following a court appearance in Pulec’s death.
In a federal court document, immigration officials said the Denver Sheriff Department released Estrada-Reyes despite their request that he be detained. However, Colorado jailers say , and the sheriff department said they gave ICE nearly a day’s notice before Estrada-Reyes was freed.
Federal prosecutors don’t often charge people living in the country illegally — if they don’t have an extensive conviction history — with immigration-related crimes, deferring the cases instead to ICE. Acting U.S. Attorney for Colorado Bob Troyer said the office for immigrants who are a public safety threat — like Estrada-Reyes — in an effort to get them off the street.
Immigrant advocates worry that under the Trump administration, and with the prospect of a new top federal prosecutor in Colorado, more people living in the country illegally without a serious criminal record .
Estrada-Reyes is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 18.
