U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer for a 22-year-old Venezuelan national accused of carrying out two fatal shootings in Charlotte, North Carolina, as federal officials urged local authorities not to release him from custody.
Angelvis Jesus Quintero Fernandez was arrested March 23 by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and is facing multiple felony charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, possession of a stolen firearm, and felony conspiracy, according to law enforcement records.
Police allege Quintero Fernandez fatally shot Ludvin Antonio Guzman Morales, 44, on Jan. 24 and Luis Gutierrez Mora on March 22.
Investigators linked the two cases through ballistics evidence and say the suspect later confessed to both killings.
Authorities said the January shooting occurred on Central Avenue when Morales was attempting to intervene in a fight.
In the March case, officers responded to a shooting outside a restaurant, where Mora was found with life-threatening injuries and later died at a hospital.
Following Quintero Fernandez's arrest, ICE issued a detainer request seeking to ensure he remains in custody and is transferred to federal immigration authorities rather than released.
Such detainers are requests to local jurisdictions to hold individuals for up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that it is urging officials in Charlotte, which it described as a sanctuary jurisdiction, to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and not release the suspect back into the community.
Acting assistant Secretary Lauren Bis criticized immigration policies under the Biden administration, linking the case to border concerns and the CBP One app, which was used to schedule asylum appointments at ports of entry.
"Because of the Biden administration's disastrous CBP One app, this illegal alien was allowed to come into the country and commit these murders," Bis said in a statement.
"We are calling on Charlotte sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer from jail back into our communities," she continued.
"We need cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions to make America safe again. No one wants this murderer in their communities."
Quintero Fernandez entered the country in July 2023 and has remained without legal authorization, according to DHS.
Court records show he is being held in Mecklenburg County jail without bond as the case proceeds.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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