A twice-deported illegal alien who killed a 61-year-old North Carolina man in a drunk-driving hit-and-run is now back in federal custody, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Monday.
Werner Orosco-Clemente, 30, who also used the name Wilmer Fuentes Mejia, is a Guatemalan national with a record of DUIs and assault, according to the DHS.
Authorities say Mejia was driving drunk on Sept. 13 when he struck and killed Richard Ferguson Jr. in Durham, North Carolina, before fleeing the scene.
Police say Mejia’s vehicle ran off the road, hit two signs, and then hit Ferguson.
He was later charged with hit-and-run, involuntary manslaughter, and driving with a revoked license.
Ferguson’s grieving brother Reginald told WRAL-TV, “He didn’t deserve to get killed and leave this earth.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer with the Durham County Detention Center where Mejia is being held after the fatal crash.
The agency blasted local officials for releasing Mejia after prior DUI arrests.
“If [Mejia] had never got out on bond, my brother would be alive today,” Reginald Ferguson said.
“Our brother worked since he was 14 and never has he been able to even enjoy a vacation with his own retirement,” added sister Ramonica Cannon.
“We need to stop this from happening to another family.”
“Wilmer Fuentes Mejia is a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala who has a history of driving while intoxicated and was previously deported by ICE in 2020,” said DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin.
“A local DA allowed him to walk free after multiple DUIs only to then cause this fatal hit-and-run that killed an innocent 61-year-old man in North Carolina.”
McLaughlin vowed Ferguson’s family “will get justice.”
“ICE lodged a detainer for this criminal to ensure this menace and public safety threat isn’t released back onto America’s streets,” she said.
Records show Mejia first entered the U.S. illegally in 2015 and was released by the Obama administration.
He was ordered removed in 2019, deported under President Donald Trump in 2020, and reentered illegally at an unknown date.© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
