Illegal immigrant killed Lancaster man. Will he be deported or go to prison, or both?

An illegal immigrant with a history of driving without a license in South Carolina will spend eight years in prison after striking a Lancaster man with his car, killing him.

Abel Borbonio-Olivio, 42, an undocumented alien, pleaded guilty to reckless homicide Tuesday in court in Lancaster for the death of Charles Byrdic in August 2018.

Byrdic, 60, was walking in his yard when Borbonio-Olivio went off the road and ran over Byrdic, said 6th Circuit Solicitor Randy Newman. Borbonio-Olivio was charged after he had prescription drugs in his system when he drove off the road.

In court, through an interpreter, Borbonio-Olivio said: “I am very sorry to have put this family through this trauma.”

Borbonio-Olivio will serve his prison sentence then likely face deportation back to Mexico, prosecutors and court officials said.

Borbonio-Olivio used five names, three dates of birth, two social security numbers and four DMV aliases during two decades while in the U.S. illegally, Newman said. He had been arrested four times for not having a driver’s license in the past 15 years, court records show.

Newman asked for the maximum of 10 years in prison. Byrdic’s family asked for the maximum sentence, saying Borbonio-Olivio has to take responsibility for his actions.

Dave Cook, Borbonio-Olivio’s lawyer, said the incident is a tragedy. Cook asked for a lesser sentence than the maximum because Borbonio-Olivio had led a productive life of work in Lancaster and has three children.

“He didn’t wake up that day intending to take somebody’s life,” Cook said.

Judge Brian Gibbons said he had to take into account both that Borbonio-Olivio did not intend to kill Byrdic and that he was illegally in the country.

“I can’t ignore that in the past you disguised who you are and that you are in this country illegally,” Gibbons said before sentencing Borbonio-Olivio to eight years.

Borbonio-Olivio has been jailed since August under a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer. He will be turned over to ICE after his prison term, his lawyer said.

This story was originally published March 26, 2019 at 11:35 AM with the headline "Illegal immigrant killed Lancaster man. Will he be deported or go to prison, or both?."