By SOPHIE NIETO-MUNOZ
Reprinted with permission N.J. Monitor
State prosecutors sought pretrial detention last month for an undocumented immigrant accused of killing a woman and her daughter in a drunken driving crash in Lakewood, but a Superior Court judge denied the state’s request.
The fatal crash has sparked a new fight between the Trump and Murphy administrations, with the White House accusing Gov. Phil Murphy of pushing “dangerous sanctuary city policies.” President Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney of New Jersey has previously said she’s investigating Murphy, a Democrat, and Attorney General Matt Platkin over a state directive that limits when local law enforcement can cooperate with federal immigration agents.
A Murphy spokesman said the governor believes the man at the center of this fight — Raul Luna-Perez, whom federal authorities said entered the United States illegally from Mexico — should have been deported long ago, and one for Platkin stressed that the state’s directive allows for cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding anyone charged with a violent crime or convicted of any indictable offense.
Platkin has noted that prosecutors wanted Luna-Perez to remain behind bars after the July 26 fatal crash, which killed Maria Pleitez, 42, and her 11-year-old daughter, Dayanara. At a July 31 court hearing in Ocean County, Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Gregory Lenzi said he was “shocked and appalled” that Luna-Perez was arrested three times in four months for driving under the influence, according to a recording of the hearing obtained by the New Jersey Monitor.
“The defendant was fortunate, following his first DWI, no one was severely injured or killed. He then made the conscious decision to drive intoxicated a second time, 27 days later,” Lenzi said. “Now, your honor, following this third incident, we are here because two people are dead and another is injured.”
A public safety assessment that weighs risk factors to determine whether a defendant should be detained before trial indicated Luna-Perez should be released, Luna-Perez’s defense attorney said. But Lenzi urged Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels to keep Luna-Perez jailed anyway.
“The defendant is clearly an obstruction risk, as he repeatedly operates a motor vehicle in a manner which poses a risk of death and serious bodily injury to every member of the community on the roads, either in a car or on foot,” he said.
Daniels sided with Luna-Perez’s lawyer. He ordered Luna-Perez released but confined to his Red Bank home with an ankle monitor, barred him from operating a vehicle, and ordered a substance abuse evaluation.
“As the state argued, his conduct was conscious and deliberate, getting behind the wheel allegedly under the influence. That resulted in a tragedy and also presented a danger to the community as well,” Daniels said. “However, his attorney argued, and rightfully so, this defendant has no other pending charges, no disorderly persons convictions, no indictable convictions, no violent convictions.”
Luna-Perez’s release turned out to be temporary. Immigration agents later arrested him, and on Thursday, Ocean County authorities said they retrieved him from a migrant jail in Elizabeth and brought him back to an Ocean County jail as they seek a second time to keep him behind bars.
“His return sends a clear message that our federal partners share in our mission to hold those individuals that commit serious crimes accountable — regardless of their immigration status,” Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said in a statement.
Ocean County has resisted the state directive, known as the Immigration Trust Directive. In 2019 it sued the state to invalidate the order, saying it was preempted by federal law. A federal judge ruled against the county, a decision that was upheld by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in August 2021.
Luna-Perez was initially charged with two counts each of vehicular homicide and assault by auto. Authorities say he was speeding and driving drunk, crossed double-yellow lines into oncoming traffic, and collided head-on with a car driven by Pleitez. Luna-Perez’s blood alcohol level was about three times the legal limit at the time of the crash, authorities say.
After Luna-Perez was released by the judge in Ocean County, county prosecutors slapped him with two counts each of aggravated manslaughter and strict liability vehicular homicide.
Luna-Perez has several prior arrests but no convictions, court records show. He was arrested on March 20 and April 17 by Red Bank police and charged with driving under the influence. He was accused of domestic violence in a June 2023 complaint that was later withdrawn, so the matter was dismissed, state courts spokeswoman MaryAnn Spoto said.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the blame for the crash “rests squarely with Governor Murphy.”
“This criminal illegal alien had three prior arrests by local police — including two that were for driving under the influence. The innocent people he killed should still be alive today — and they would be if it weren’t for sanctuary policies that protect criminal illegal aliens. President Trump is committed to carrying out the largest mass deportation operation of criminal illegal aliens in history and Making America Safe Again,” Jackson said.
The Immigrant Trust Directive, first issued in 2018, restricts when local and state law enforcement can help federal immigration authorities and bars them from asking about immigration status during certain encounters. But the directive says when it comes to certain violent and serious offenses, including assault, cops are allowed to cooperate with immigration agents.
“To be clear, nothing in the Immigrant Trust Directive would have prevented New Jersey law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials to deport this defendant. And we reiterate that the Immigrant Trust Directive allows for cooperation with ICE in regard to anyone charged with a violent crime or convicted of any indictable offense,” said Platkin spokeswoman Sharon Lauchaire.
Mahen Gunaratna, a Murphy spokesman, said Luna-Perez should have faced repercussions for his previous charges.
“The Governor believes that Mr. Luna-Perez, who has been arrested multiple times for DUI and domestic violence, should not have been allowed behind the wheel and should have already been deported due to his previous dangerous criminal activity,” Gunaratna said.
Prosecutors at the July 31 hearing discussed details from Luna-Perez’s two previous DWI arrests.
On March 20, police accused him of hitting another car that was attempting to park. He failed roadside sobriety tests and had a blood alcohol content of 0.186, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, police said.
On April 17, police said he nearly hit a marked Red Bank police car head-on. Officers found multiple Modelo cans in his car, and he attempted to get rid of an open can by spilling it all over the inside of his truck, police said. His blood alcohol content then was 0.16, they said.
“His actions have been egregious, and with three documented incidents, has given this court zero reason to believe he will abide by any condition of release,” Lenzi said during last week’s hearing. “Your honor has the authority to … not give this defendant a fourth opportunity to do this again.”
Luna-Perez’s immigration status was not discussed at that hearing.
Dana DiFilippo contributed.
