An Ecuadorian national has been sentenced to just over a year in federal prison for coming back into the country after being deported following a conviction in connection with a fatal crash on Interstate 91 in 2017.
Darwin Francisco Quituizaca-Duchitanga, also known as Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca and Juan Mendez-Gutierrez, 40, appeared in federal court in New Haven on Wednesday and was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
In July, Quituizaca-Duchitanga pleaded guilty to unlawful reentry, federal officials said.
Authorities noted that Quituizaca-Duchitanga first came to the country in December 2003 under the alias Juan Mendez-Gutierrez. He was encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol and was issued a voluntary return to Mexico after claiming to be a citizen there, authorities said.
In March 2018, Connecticut State Police arrested Quituizaca-Duchitanga under the alias Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca, according to officials. The charges stemmed from a fatal motor vehicle crash on I-91 in North Haven in March 2017.
Quituizaca-Duchitanga was arrested again in August 2018 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while out on bond in connection with the crash, authorities said. He was taken into custody on an administrative warrant, officials said.
The following month, an immigration judge ordered Quituizaca-Duchitanga to be deported to Ecuador, but he was transferred to state custody to face his pending charges, authorities said.
In January 2019, he was convicted in state superior court on a second-degree manslaughter charge and was sentenced to 30 months in prison, according to federal authorities. Federal officials are not sure when he was released from prison.
In August 2023, Quituizaca-Duchitanga was arrested by ICE agents in Meriden on an administrative warrant of removal, officials said. He was deported to Ecuador the following month.
According to authorities, Quituizaca-Duchitanga reentered the country and was arrested again by ICE agents in Meriden in June on an administrative warrant. He has been in custody since.
