Tillis, Budd question Biden administration on legal status of suspects in Wake deputy’s killing
Two Republicans on Capitol Hill requested information from federal immigration officials on Wednesday about the two men charged with killing a Wake County sheriff’s deputy this month.
Sen. Thom Tillis and Rep. Ted Budd, who is running for an open Senate seat this November, said they had requested the Department of Homeland Security provide all “alien files and all relevant and pertinent information” for Alder Alfonso Marin Sotelo, 25, and Arturo Marin Sotelo, 29, both of whom were indicted and charged with murder after Deputy Ned Byrd was found shot multiple times on Aug. 12.
Arturo Marin Sotelo is also charged with “possession of a firearm by an illegal alien” tied to a 2021 traffic stop, The News & Observer reported.
Tillis and Budd also requested the same information for 18-year-old Rolando Marin Sotelo, who was arrested on Aug. 16 for an unrelated federal charge of “possession of ammunition by an illegal alien,” The N&O reported last week.
In their letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Tillis and Budd said they wanted information about the three brothers’ legal status after media reporting gave them “reason to believe that one or more of the Marin-Sotelo brothers may be in the country illegally.” They linked in their news release to an N&O story.
“This raises significant questions about how they entered the country, why they were able to remain in the United States, and whether robust immigration enforcement would have apprehended them sooner and prevented the death of Deputy Byrd,” Tillis and Budd wrote in the letter.
The letter came on the same day Tillis and Budd participated in a discussion with North Carolina sheriffs and state lawmakers on the “need for commonsense legislation at the state and federal level” to prevent illegal immigration.
Byrd was found dead outside his unmarked sheriff’s office SUV in southeastern Wake County by another deputy early on the morning of Aug. 12, approximately two hours after he responded to a nearby domestic incident. Byrd had pulled over to enter notes from the incident and didn’t respond to a dispatcher trying to check in.
The two brothers charged with killing Byrd, Alder Alfonso Marin Sotel and Arturo Marin Sotelo, were identified after federal officials assisting with the investigation used cellphone usage data from the area where Byrd was found to narrow down suspects, The N&O reported.
Both brothers are currently being held in Wake County jail without bail. If convicted of murder, the brothers could face the death penalty or life in prison.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman has said she expects to make a decision in the next three months over whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
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This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 2:07 PM.
