It has come to light that the guy who was detained on Friday on suspicion of murdering a sheriff’s officer in a hit-and-run was unlawfully present in the nation.
Deputy Michael Hartwick, 51, was struck by a front-end loader on Thursday evening and promptly lost his life.
At 10:40 p.m. in St. Petersburg, Hartwick was struck by the car being driven by Juan Ariel Molina-Salles, 32, when he was standing on the I-275’s hard shoulder.
A construction worker named Molina-Salles called his buddy Elieser Aureilio Gomez-Zelaya in tears and explained what had transpired.
Then Gomez-Zelaya assisted him, enabling Molina-Salles to flee while concealing his safety helmet and vest in the woods.
Molina-Salles was finally located nine hours after the start of a huge search by bloodhounds working with the Pinellas County sheriffs.
He was arrested on Friday and put into the Pinellas County Jail on a charge of fleeing the scene of a fatal accident, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a required minimum of four years.
An accessory after the fact accusation, which is a felony, is levied against Gomez-Zelaya.
Both individuals, who were born in Honduras, were working under false names in the country illegally, according to Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.
In October, Molina-Salles crossed into Eagle Pass, Texas, was sent back to Mexico, but later returned and found employment there.
Gualtieri said that further on-site personnel gave fictitious identities as well.
Gualtieri said that they were impeding the probe by failing to provide the necessary clarifications.
He lauded Hartwick for his work ethic and said that he was a 19-year veteran of the sheriff’s office and the father of two grown boys.
Gualtieri said, “Mike was a decent man, a good officer.”
He completed his work.
On Friday, Hartwick’s coworkers honoured him with a parade through the streets. There is now a monument for the popular sheriff.
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