The suspect in a fatal crash over the weekend in Cayuga County is an illegal immigrant who had previously been deported, then was arrested last month in Wayne County for Aggravated DWI.
State Police say a Heriberto Perez-Velasquez was released last month because he was "ineligible for pre-arraignment detention under the court’s policies" in Wayne County. Troopers say Perez-Velasquez tried to run from them after failing field sobriety tests, was unable to produce valid identification and admitted he didn't have a driver's license.
They say troopers contacted U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but the CPB could not respond to question him. Immigration authorities asked that Perez-Velasquez be held, but the court released him to a sober third party on an appearance ticket for an aggravated DWI charge.
Had he been in custody, he would not now be a suspect in the crash along Route 31 in Weedsport -- klling Mark Knapp. Knapp was on a tractor that was hit while on the shoulder.