An immigrant who entered the country illegally and came to northeast Wisconsin is facing his 9th OWI arrest in just under 10 years. Deputies say 48-year-old Hermanegildo Garcia-Gutierrez was driving reckless on Highway 22 in Shawano County when they pulled him over and now he faces possible deportation.
Once you get charged with your 9th OWI offense it can mean a 25-thousand dollar fine and up to 10 years in prison. But for Garcia-Gutierrez, accused of entering the country illegally, it could mean deportation.
Garcia-Gutierrez was charged with three OWI's in Wisconsin in the last several years. He was also picked up four additional offenses in Illinois and one in Georgia. Authorities saying today that it’s not for those offenses that he may be deported, but rather for jumping the border. Now since 2014 the national policy has been if an illegal immigrant doesn't commit a violent crime the Federal government likely won't deport you. But Garcia-Gutierrez also has a warrant out on him from the US Marshal’s office for entering the country illegally.
"It will be very interesting to find out if the US Marshal Service or ICE actually does pick up this person after the court proceedings and deport him," says Shawano County Sheriff Adam Bieber.
"It's possible that the federal authorities may try to deport this person but for an OWI it's uncertain. It may not be serious enough," adds Attorney at Law Avi Beck with Peterson Berk and Cross out of Appleton.
Shawano County's district attorney’s office says that Garcia-Gutierrez has used several different aliases in the past and it's likely that he has more drunk driving offenses than what are on his record. This Friday there is a preliminary hearing on his latest OWI charge. He remains in custody on a 10-thousand dollar cash bond at the Shawano County Jail.
