Ecuadorian Man Convicted In Fatal Crash Facing Illegal Reentry Charge
Sunday, July 20, 2025, 3:00 P.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
HARTFORD, CT.- A 39-year-old Ecuadorian national, illegally residing in Meriden, Connecticut, and who was previously convicted of manslaughter and deported, is facing up to 20 years in federal prison after being criminally charged in connection with being illegally present in the United States after having been previously deported.
According to U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan, Darwin Francisco Quituizaca-Gutierrez, also known as “Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca” and “Juan Mendez-Gutierrez,” 39, of Ecuador, was charged by federal criminal complaint with Illegally Reentering the United States by a Deported Alien Convicted of an Aggravated Felony.
According to the charging information filed in the criminal complaint, it is alleged that in December 2023, Quituizaca, using the alias Juan Mendez-Gutierrez, was encountered by U.S. Border Patrol and issued a voluntary return to Mexico after he falsely claimed to Border Patrol Agents that he was a citizen of Mexico.
Quituizaca Was Charged Under An Alias In 2018 With Manslaughter
It is further alleged that in May 2018, the Connecticut State Police arrested and charged Quituizaca, under the alias Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca, on charges related to a fatal motor vehicle accident on Interstate-91 in North Haven, Connecticut, in March 2017. On August 30, 2018, Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers encountered Quituizaca in Meriden, Connecticut, and arrested him on an administrative warrant while he was free awaiting trial on his state case.
Quituizaca Was Released From State Custody
In September 2018, a Federal Immigration Judge ordered Quituizaca removed from the United States to Ecuador, but he was subsequently transferred to state custody to face his pending charges in connection with the fatal crash. In January 2019, Quituizaca was convicted in Connecticut Superior Court of second-degree manslaughter and sentenced to 30 months of incarceration. He was subsequently released from state prison on an unknown date without notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials of his release.
On August 15, 2023, Immigration and Customs Enforcement encountered and arrested Quituizaca on an administrative warrant of removal in Meriden, Connecticut, and was removed back to Ecuador in September 2023. It is also alleged that after his September 2023 removal, Quituizaca, on an unknown date and at an unknown location, illegally reentered the United States without permission or legal authorization after being illegally in Meriden.
Quituizaca, who has been in federal custody since his arrest on June 28, 2025, made his initial appearance in Federal Court in Hartford, Connecticut, on Friday, July 18, 2025, and was ordered detained pending trial.
“The rules of the federal court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”
