YULEE, Fla. (AP) - A man being chased by a Florida sheriff’s deputy who was fatally struck by a passing SUV during the pursuit told a federal judge he wants to plead guilty to illegally re-entering the United States from Mexico.
Twenty-six-year-old Francisco Portillo-Fuentes was in court Monday for a detention hearing. U.S. Magistrate Joel Toomey set another hearing for next Monday.
Portillo-Fuentes was arrested last week in Jacksonville about 12 hours after Nassau Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Oliver was killed while chasing him. The Florida Times-Union (https://bit.ly/2gq2JAh ) reports Portillo-Fuentes was riding in a truck with other men. When U.S. Border Patrol agents approached, he ran and deputies gave chase.
Records show Portillo-Fuentes was deported in September after a DUI conviction. He returned by crossing the Rio Grande just three days before Oliver was killed.
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