Attack suspect is 11-time deportee
Immigration officials file detainer for man accused of assaulting wife with a chain saw.
A man suspected of attacking his wife with a chain saw in Whittier had been deported 11 times since 2005, immigration officials said.
Alejandro Alvarez Villegas attacked his wife in their home Wednesday, with their three children inside, according to Whittier police. The 32-year-old then drove off in a stolen car.
The woman was taken to a hospital where she underwent surgery, Officer John Scoggins said.
“She’s currently recovering and expected to survive,” Scoggins said.
Immigration officers have lodged a detainer against Alvarez, requesting that local authorities notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement before his release to allow them to take the man into custody, ICE spokeswoman Lori Haley said.
“Department of Homeland Security databases indicate Mr. Alvarez-Villegas is a serial immigration violator who has been removed from the United States 11 times since 2005,” Haley said in a statement.
Depending on criminal history, someone in the country illegally who reenters the U.S. after having been previously removed may have committed a felony punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, according to ICE.
ICE did not provide Alvarez’s criminal history, but a search of court records showed that he pleaded no contest in 2013 to one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and one count of using or being under the influence of a controlled substance. Later that year, he pleaded no contest to driving with a bloodalcohol content of 0.08% or higher.
Whittier police responded to the 7700 block of Milton Avenue about 3 p.m. Wednesday regarding an attempted murder stemming from a domestic violence incident, authorities said in a statement. When officers arrived, they found Alvarez’s wife suffering from “traumatic physical injuries” apparently inflicted with a chain saw.
Detectives were able to locate and arrest Alvarez Thursday in Chula Vista, in southern San Diego County. Police said he would be booked in Whittier on suspicion of attempted homicide, child endangerment, hit-and-run, and grand theft auto.
Scoggins said Alvarez had a few past arrests for misdemeanors but that none of them were violent.
“They don’t have anything to do with domestic violence or assault and battery,” he said.
Scoggins said he did not know Alvarez’s immigration status or “what’s going on from that end.”