LOS ANGELES — A Mexican migrant who has already been kicked out of the US four times is accused of killing an 11-year-old boy in a heinous hit-and-run on the outskirts of San Diego before Thanksgiving, The Post has learned.
The suspect, Hector Balderas-Aheelor, is now on track for deportation. “Nothing prohibits the federal government from doing its job in this case,” a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office told The Post.
Aiden Antonio Torres De Paz was playing with another child and chasing his soccer ball at the end of a residential street outside his home on Nov. 26 in Escondido, Calif., when he was allegedly run over by Balderas-Aheelor, a Mexican migrant who sped away from the scene, NBC 7 first reported.
His mother, María de Paz, rushed into the street after hearing the crash and found her son laying unconscious with serious injuries.
“People came to help me, but no one saw anything,” she later told the NBC affiliate in San Diego. “The car just fled. They hit him and didn’t stop.”
“He was a really friendly and loved kid,” added his mother, who spoke in Spanish with the outlet to share that she “loved that little boy. He didn’t deserve this.”
The boy died from his injuries at Rady Children’s Hospital on the morning of Thanksgiving Day, according to family members. A vigil was held last Friday at the scene of his death.
“We’re not celebrating Thanksgiving like we should be, like a typical family should be right now,” Irene Gonzalez, a neighbor and family friend, also told NBC 7.
“It’s hard to give thanks. We do give thanks that Aiden is no longer in pain — seeing him, laying there in the bed suffering — so we do give thanks that he is up above with our heavenly father.”
It’s unclear how fast Balderas-Aheelor was going when he allegedly struck the young boy. The posted speed limit on East Washington Avenue, where the crash occurred, is 35 miles per hour.
Balderas-Aheelor had no prior criminal history, according to DHS officials.
The Escondido Police Department arrested and booked him on Nov. 29, charging him with a felony hit and run causing death or injury. He is currently being held by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office on a $100,000 bond at Rock Mountain Detention Facility in San Diego.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it has issued an arrest detainer, which officials are concerned will not be honored in the Golden State.
A California law passed during President Trump’s first term hinders coordination between local law enforcement and the feds, providing immigrants “sanctuary” statewide from some removal operations.
Balderas-Aheelor was previously deported on March 19, 2004; June 10, 2004; June 15, 2004; and March 4, 2010, DHS officials said. They also shared a mugshot showing him detained during that last removal.
“Thanksgiving should be a day of celebrating family and giving gratitude, but instead the family of Aiden Antonio Torres De Paz mourned this beautiful child’s death because a criminal illegal alien stole his life. Now, sanctuary laws threaten to put this killer back onto California’s streets,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.
“Hector Balderas-Aheelor was previously removed FOUR times before he chose to commit a felony and illegally re-entering the country a fifth time. Gavin Newsom, we are calling on YOU to do the right thing and honor ICE’s arrest detainer.”
“Unlawfully returning to the United States after deportation is a federal criminal offense and California honors federal criminal warrants,” the governor’s rep said in a statement. “The federal government admits a failure to apprehend the suspect when he unlawfully entered the US but California law does not prevent them from acting now.”
Balderas-Aheelor has an arraignment hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 3, in North Division Court.
Reps for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office and María de Paz did not respond to requests for comment.
