U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says an undocumented man charged in a deadly hit-and-run was released from Mecklenburg County’s jail before agents could file an immigration detainer. However, officials with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office say he was in custody for over a week — and that they notified ICE.
Julio Xocop-Vicente is charged with severely injuring a 15-year-old girl in a hit-and-run in an east Charlotte neighborhood in November. She died one month later.
Xocop-Vicente was arrested on Nov. 25. A judge ordered his release the next day on a $10,000 bond. Xocop-Vicente posted bond one week later and was released on December 3.
In a statement, ICE said the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office released him before agents could file an immigration detainer. The agency added that "the soft-on-crime and pro-illegal criminal illegal alien policies of Charlotte" allowed him to walk out of jail.
The sheriff's office told WFAE it notified ICE the night he was booked, but said it never received a detainer. The jail held him for a week, including the 48 hours after he otherwise would have been released, which is required by state law under HB318.
ICE said it detained Xocop-Vicente on Jan. 12, and he is now being held at a detention center in Georgia. ICE did not respond to WFAE’s request for comment.
