An illegal alien, allowed to remain in the United States on President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, purchased beer while already intoxicated an hour before causing a crash that killed four former and current law enforcement officers, police say.
Ivan Robles Navejas, a 28-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested and charged last month by the Kerr County, Texas Sheriff’s Office on six counts of intoxication assault with a vehicle and three counts of intoxicated vehicular manslaughter.
According to police, Navejas was drunk-driving when he hit and killed four members of the Thin Blue Line motorcycle club — a group of active duty service members, law enforcement officers, and retired officers.
Those killed include:
- 39-year-old Niles, Illinois Police Sgt. Joseph Lazo
- 48-year-old retired officer Joseph “GT” Paglia of Chicago
- 74-year-old retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jerry “Wings” Harbour of Houston
- 20-something retired U.S. Army officer Michael “Psycho” White of Chicago
Now, Kerr County investigators say Navejas was intoxicated about an hour before the fatal crash when he walked into a Dollar General store and was sold beer. The store clerk who sold Navejas the alcohol has been arrested and charged with illegally selling alcohol to a person who was visibly intoxicated.
Since the fatal crash, there have been four funerals for each of the men killed. While Harbour, Paglia, and White were immediately killed in the crash, Lazo was one of nine others who had been critically injured. He died weeks later in a hospital.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency confirmed Navejas had been in the U.S. through the DACA program. The Obama-created program was able to keep Navejas in the country despite multiple run-ins with the law.
At the time of the fatal crash, Navejas had been out on bail for a 2018 case in which he allegedly hit a man with his truck — pinning him up against his truck and another vehicle — before biting his ear off and biting his back.
For that incident, Navejas was detained on a $65,000 bail. He posted that bail and had been out awaiting trial. Currently, Navejas is in Kerr County Jail on $500,000 bail.
Since DACA’s inception, more than 2,100 recipients of the program have been kicked off because they were found to be either criminals or gang members.
