Hennepin judge questions lag in charges for immigrant in fatality case highlighted by White House

A fatal drunken-driving crash in Minneapolis allegedly caused by an Ecuadorean national has drawn indignation from the White House over his immigration status and questions from a Hennepin County judge about what took so long to file criminal vehicular homicide charges.

German Adriano Llangari Inga, 35, was charged on May 2 in Hennepin County District Court in connection with a head-on collision on Aug. 3 that killed Victoria Eileen Harwell, 31, of Minneapolis.

Llangari Inga, who was driving without a license, was jailed early in the morning following the crash. He was released two days later. It took nearly nine months for charges to be filed. The White House has cited the case to criticize some Twin Cities elected officials for policies on undocumented immigrants who commit crimes.

The White House has heavily criticized what are known as sanctuary policies, in which local officials decline to accommodate Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation efforts.

In a statement shared with the Minnesota Star Tribune, White House spokesman Alex Pfeiffer emphasized that cases like Inga’s are “precisely why the Trump administration is taking action to hold these so-called sanctuary jurisdictions accountable.”

Harwell’s father said Monday he was unaware that Llangari Inga was being sought by ICE for deportation at the time of the crash.

“This has been too much to bear,” said Victor Harwell, who is now caring for five of his daughter’s seven children. “I don’t want to engage in who he was.”

She noted his criminal history included an alien admissibility arrest in McAllen, Texas, in 2016. The state requested conditional bail of $150,000; Judge Amber Brennan set it at $100,000.

Brennan asked Cole what had taken so long for the state to charge the crime. Cole said her office received the case from the Minneapolis Police Department in the last week of December and “a bunch of additional evidence” was uploaded in late February.

Brennan said that delay was something she had to consider and that any potential arrest by the federal government over immigration concerns “is not appropriately before me.” Brennan said Llangari Inga did not appear to be a flight risk since he was in court several months after the accident and had stayed in Minnesota.

Attorney Joel Fink, who represented Llangari Inga, said the defendant’s wife was in the courtroom and was willing to make sure he returns to court. Shortly after the hearing, Fink led the woman across the street to a bail bondsman’s office. They both declined to comment. Llangari Inga‘s next court appearance is set for June 11.

Hennepin County Attorney’s Office spokesman Daniel Borgertpoepping said the case was handled “the way all cases are handled when toxicology reports are necessary to complete an investigation and submit a case.”

Alpha News first reported the White House criticism of how the case was handled. “An illegal immigrant drove drunk, killed an innocent mother, and was on the run because Democrats didn’t do their most important job: protect their constituents,” Pfeiffer’s statement maintained. It cited numerous Minneapolis Democrats, among them Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, and law enforcement leaders who have supported sanctuary policies.

Trump has campaigned on a pledge to deport immigrants accused of crimes, some as serious as homicide but also as routine as drunken driving. Some of the deportations early in Trump‘s return to the White House have been challenged by his political rivals as immoral and at times unconstitutional.

At the time of the crash, Llangari Inga was the subject of an ICE order dating to 2016 for expedited removal from the United States, Pfeiffer said.

In a statement, the Sheriff’s Office explained that it was following guidance from the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. The agency “cannot lawfully hold individuals in custody based solely on an administrative detainer issued by the Department of Homeland Security or Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” according to the statement.

In the absence of a judicially signed warrant to turn someone over to ICE, the Sheriff’s Office said, “individuals must be released once all criminal charges or holds have been resolved.”

Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman clarified Tuesday that “we have a longstanding policy consistent with law that detainer holds are unconstitutional. The [attorney general’s] guidance further recognizes the law.”

According to the charges stemming from the fatal crash, Surveillance video captured Llangari Inga driving an SUV east on Lowry Avenue near James Avenue N., crossing the double, yellow centerline and hitting Harwell’s SUV head-on. One witness told police that Llangari Inga appeared to have been speeding before the collision.

Emergency medical responders took Harwell to a hospital, where she died.

Two people riding with Harwell, her sister and her daughter, suffered less serious injuries.

Officers met with Llangari Inga at the hospital and noticed he smelled of alcohol. Police saw three open beer bottles in his vehicle.

Surveillance video revealed that Llangari Inga hit another driver from behind, leaving them slightly injured.

Police arrested Llangari Inga that evening and administered a preliminary breath test that measured his blood alcohol content at 0.171%, more than twice the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.

A test of a blood sample collected by police about 2½ hours later found his BAC was 0.141%, still well above the legal limit. Along with not having a valid license, Llangari Inga also was driving without insurance.

When charges were filed on May 2, Llangari Inga could not be located and a warrant was issued for his arrest. On Saturday, Hennepin sheriff’s deputies arrested him inside his home on Penn Avenue N. in Minneapolis. He did not resist, a spokeswoman said.

In his interview Monday, Victor Harwell recalled how his daughter Victoria, at age 7, had survived being repeatedly stabbed with her mother in their St. Paul home. Her mother, Kimberly Harmon, died, and their attacker received a life sentence.