DALLAS, Texas — A Dallas Police Department spokesperson confirmed to WFAA Monday that the department didn't notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when they arrested alleged serial killer Oscar Sanchez Garcia for beating his girlfriend on March 13.
A department spokesperson said officers may but aren't required to notify ICE about arrests, per the department's general orders.
A source within the department added that officers don't usually enforce federal immigration laws unless a severe violent crime has been committed or a suspect has an active warrant.
WFAA is still waiting to hear from ICE about when they were first alerted to Garcia, who was placed on an ICE hold after he was tied to the slayings of three women.
ICE could have likely been alerted to Garcia's case once a magistrate arraigned him. However, he bonded out a day after being jailed and requested the Consulate of Mexico be notified about his arrest.
"Foreign government officials are entitled to communicate with their nationals in U.S. jails and prisons to check their welfare and provide consular assistance. They may contact family, ensure legal representation and medical care, or provide reading materials," per the Department of Homeland Security.
The Dallas County Sheriff's Office told WFAA that suspects coming into the jail aren't known to be undocumented unless they have an active warrant or ICE hold connected to their name.
40 days before the first body was found
Garcia's March arrest happened weeks before his first alleged murder victim, 60-year-old Kimberly Robinson, was found stabbed to death in a field near the Trinity River. Within three months, two more women were found in the same area with a similar fate.
Cherish Gibson, 25, was found partially nude by police on June 24 in the 200 block of Sante Fe Avenue.
After she was killed, 31-year-old DeBrenese Henry was found stabbed to death on July 15 near the location where Gibson was found. That victim has yet to be identified by the department. Investigators said at least two women were prostitutes and warned sex workers about the pattern shortly before Garcia was connected to the crimes and arrested.
Phone data, surveillance footage and DNA from sexual assault kits were used, connecting Garcia to the crimes.
On March 13, Garcia was arrested for punching his girlfriend four times in the face after they got into an argument sparked by the girlfriend taking Garcia's bank card to buy diapers without his consent, per court documents.
Police recorded that the girlfriend had lacerations and swelling on her face in Garcia's arrest documents.
They also indirectly mentioned that Garcia was undocumented, stating that he was asked if he wanted his consulate notified about the arrest.
Per the documents, Garcia declined that offer, even though he requested the notification during his arraignment.
Still, Garcia's arrest likely did not reach DPD's threshold of notifying ICE officials. The charge was a misdemeanor for assault family violence causing bodily injury.
No weapon was involved, and Garcia has a clean record, including no prior family violence convictions or alleged violent offenses within the previous year.
The sister of Cherish Gibson spoke with WFAA last week and questioned if her sister would still be alive if Garcia had been made known to federal immigration authorities.
Would an ICE hold have prevented three deaths?
The short answer to the question above, per immigration attorney Fernando Dubove, is possibly or possibly not.
If Garcia had faced an immigration detainer, he would have been entitled to a bond hearing.
Dubove said Garcia would have likely been granted a bond due to his lack of criminal history.
"If you've had no prior criminal history, even though domestic violence is serious, no weapon was involved, and you've been in the community for a few years, then your chance of getting a bond is pretty good," Dubove said.
"He would still face deportation in an immigration court but would be released. There's no assurance or guarantee the person would have remained in immigration custody and be subject to automatic deportation," he said.
To indulge a theoretical scenario, even if deportation is on the table, Dubove referenced the case of Angel Maturino Reséndiz, who is believed to be responsible for as many as 23 murders across the United States and Mexico during the 1990s.
Known as the "The Railroad Killer," most of his crimes were near railroads, where he would jump off the trains he used to travel around the country. Reséndiz had been deported at least four times to Mexico since first entering the U.S. in 1973.
"He kept sneaking back in and kept doing things he wanted to do, and an immigration policy that tries to detain people or not doesn't address that," Dubove said.
Garcia would still be eligible for the death penalty despite his immigration status.
The sister of Gibson has already called for it, no word yet on how the Dallas County district attorney will proceed.