An illegal migrant who killed an off-duty Las Vegas police officer in a wrong-way crash earlier this month was deported twice but continued to sneak back into the country, according to authorities.
Fernando Jimenez-Jimenez, 31, of Mexico, was driving his Ford F-150 the wrong way down Interstate 15 on December 12 when he collided with Officer Colton Pulsipher, who was returning home from his shift, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Both Jimenez and Pulsipher were pronounced dead on the scene.
Jimenez, 31, entered the United States twice in 2019, only to be deported to Mexico both times, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Jimenez later applied for admission to the United States in Brownsville, Texas, in 2020, but failed to appear for his immigration hearing a year later, prompting the judge to order his deportation while he was absent, ICE said. But by that point, he was already roaming the country.
According to KVVU, officers discovered marijuana and alcohol while searching Jimenez’s truck. Meanwhile, the toxicology report is still pending.
Pulsipher had been an officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department since 2017, “where he worked tirelessly to protect and serve” his community, according to the department’s Facebook post following the fatal collision.
He leaves behind a wife and three children, according to the department.
Pulsipher was laid to rest on December 18, accompanied by his fellow officers.
“As we commemorate his legacy, we remember a man who personified the spirit of service. “He will always have a special place in our hearts,” LVMPD wrote in a post.
“Rest easy, Officer Pulsipher. “We have it from here.”
