The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have issued a detainer for an illegal immigrant who allegedly sexually assaulted and killed a 92-year-old woman in the early morning of Jan. 6, according to multiple reports.
As reported by Fox News, Reeaz Khan, a 21-year-old, is currently in the custody of the New York Police Department. As indicated by the news outlet, the 92-year-old woman, Maria Fuertes, was making her way home near Liberty Avenue and 127th Street when Khan attacked her.
“Reeaz Khan, 21, an unlawfully present Guyanese national, was arrested Jan. 10 by the NYPD and charged with murder, sexual abuse, contact by forcible compulsion, and sexual abuse against a person incapable of consent,” as indicated by a news release issued by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Fuertes was found at around 2 a.m. on Jan. 6, and according to the criminal complaint, she had laid on the street half-dressed for two hours, where the temperature was 32 degrees, Fox News reported. Following her discovery, she was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, the news outlet said.
NYPD Chief Rodney Harrison posted on Twitter, asking for the public for information regarding the homicide of Fuertes, writing, “The NYPD is asking for the public’s assistance identifying the male depicted in these photos for questioning in regard to the homicide of the 92-year-old women in the area of 127th St & Liberty Ave in Queens.”
When authorities investigated the incident, the surveillance footage indicated that Khan was a possible suspect in the incident, and police officers set out to find him, according to Fox News. As reported by the New York Post, after he was brought in for questioning, Khan confessed to killing Fuertes and was arrested.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea posted a tweet on his Twitter page, informing the public that Khan was taken into custody.
In another tweet, Harrison posted an update on his Twitter page, writing, “Reeaz Khan, the subject arrested for the murder of Maria Fuertes, has been charged with the following: Murder 2nd Degree-Depraved Indifference, Murder 2nd Degree-Felony Murder, Sex Abuse-Forcible Compulsion, and Sexual Abuse–Victim Physically Helpless.”
Before the incident on Jan 6, Khan was arrested by the NYPD on Nov. 27, 2019, on assault charges as well as criminal possession of a firearm, according to the news release issued by ICE. When Enforcement and Removal Operations ordered a detainer for Khan, it was not honored, and on the same day, Khan was released as per the sanctuary city policies.
Thomas R. Decker, the field office director for Enforcement and Removal Operations in New York called the sanctuary city policies in New York “flawed.”
“It is made clear that New York City’s stance against honoring detainers is dangerously flawed. It was a deadly choice to release a man on an active ICE detainer back onto the streets after his first arrest included assault and weapon charges, and he now faces new charges, including murder,” Decker said, according to the news release issued by ICE.
“New York City’s sanctuary policies continue to threaten the safety of all residents of the five boroughs, as they repeatedly protect criminal aliens who show little regard for the laws of this nation. In New York City alone, hundreds of arrestees are released each month with pending charges and/or convictions to return back into the communities where they committed their crimes, instead of being transferred into the custody of ICE. Clearly, the politicians care more about criminal illegal aliens than the citizens they are elected to serve and protect,” Deck said.
