Arrest Of Alleged Hit & Run Driver Made At Airport
DENVER (CBS) - The suspected driver in a hit and run accident that left a Denver valet dead is facing four felony charges according to Denver County Court records.
Norma Paola Vera-Nolasco faces charges of Vehicular Homicide- DUI, Vehicular Homicide- Reckless Driving, Leaving the Scene of An Accident Involving Death and Criminal Impersonation.
A truck that investigators suspect was driven by Vera-Nolasco, 32, struck and killed Jose Medina, 21, in front of the Rockstar Lounge on the 900 block of Lincoln Street late Saturday night.
While investigators have not said publicly who of the four suspects arrested in connection with the case is believed to be the driver, the charges lodged against Vera-Nolasco suggest police believe she was behind the wheel.
Independently, several law enforcement sources have told CBS4 she is believed to have been the driver.
All four suspects, including the driver, were in the U.S. illegally according to officials with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Vera-Nolasco was apprehended Wednesday about 9 p.m. at the Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix. She was on board a flight bound for Mexico that had left the gate and was headed for takeoff.
"It really did come down to a matter of minutes at the very end there," said DPD Lt. Robert Rock at a Thursday morning news conference.
He said the plane was headed for takeoff but the pilot turned around and returned to the gate when he was told a wanted fugitive was on board. Phoenix police then arrested Vera-Nolasco.
She was flying under an alias according to Denver Police. Law enforcement contacts say she used identification that belonged to a family member, Yolanda Bastida- Nolasco. That woman was arrested about 7 p.m. Wednesday in Aurora at an apartment complex at 1421 Moline Street and is being held as an accessory to the crime after the fact.
At about the same time, police surrounded a house at 3610 Fairfax Street in Denver and arrested Guadalupe Bastida, holding him without bond on charges of being an accessory after the fact.
Records show that the suspected driver, Vera-Nolasco, while in the country illegally, was reported to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials.
Aurora police stopped the woman in July of 2008 on a routine traffic violation. When they found she was wanted on an outstanding warrant from Adams County, they asked her additional questions like where she was born.
Aurora Police Sgt. Cassidee Carlson said when the woman said she was from Mexico, Aurora Police reported her to ICE. She was apparently not deported as she was stopped again twice by Aurora Police in 2009 on minor charges.
A fourth suspect in the case, Eliu Montes-Garcia was arrested in Aurora Tuesday night. ICE officials say he is also an illegal immigrant. CBS4 has learned that when he was arrested, Montes- Garcia provided police with a false name and date of birth and a bogus ID card which said his last name was Quintana.
Montes-Garcia, along with the two other suspects arrested Wednesday night in the metro area, all declined to speak with CBS4.
