GRAND RAPIDS (WWJ) — A man who was illegally back in the United States after being deported to Mexico in 2020 has been charged with murdering his girlfriend and leaving her body on the side of the freeway in Grand Rapids.
Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 25, was charged Tuesday in Kent County with felony murder, open murder and other crimes stemming from the death of Ruby Garcia of Grand Rapids.
Garcia, 25, was found shot to death late Friday night on the shoulder of southbound US-131 near Leonard Street, according to Michigan State Police. Investigators found Garcia's car abandoned Saturday afternoon near South Haven in Allegan County.
At that time, authorities say a person of interest had been developed, but not located. The next morning Allegan County Central Dispatch got a call from Ortiz-Vite, who was in Fennville, about 20 miles north, saying he wanted to turn himself in. Ortiz-Vite was then arrested and taken to the Kent County Jail.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker charged Ortiz-Vite on Tuesday with one count each of felony murder, open murder, carjacking, carrying a concealed weapon and felony firearm. No bond was issued. If convicted, he could spend up to life in prison.
Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) say Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit arrested Ortiz-Vite on Aug. 31, 2020 and he was removed to Mexico a month later.
"At an unknown date and location, Ortiz-Vite reentered the United States without inspection by an immigration official," officials said in a statement released Tuesday.
On Sunday he was arrested and charged in connection with Garcia's murder and ERO Detroit lodged a detainer with the Kent County Jail for Ortiz-Vite.
An immigration detainer is "a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from their custody. Detainers request that state or local law enforcement agencies maintain custody of the noncitizen for a period not to exceed 48 hours beyond the time the individual would otherwise be released, allowing ERO to assume custody for removal purposes in accordance with federal law."
WZZM in Grand Rapids reported detectives found Garcia's phone at the scene the night her body was found. Texted between the couple showed they had agreed to meet that night, about an hour before she was killed.
Ortiz-Vite confessed to shooting Garcia multiple times while he was in her car after they had gotten into an argument, according to the report. He told investigators he then got out of the car, walked to the driver's side and shot her again. He then pulled her body out of the car and drove away, before abandoning it in South Haven.
Authorities found the suspected murder weapon on Ortiz-Vite, which had what is believed to be blood on it, according to the report.
Becker said Tuesday this is the second recent domestic violence case in Kent County involving illegal immigrants that ended with a Hispanic woman's murder.
Becker said in such cases, immigration status puts "extra pressure" on the victims in terms of cooperating with police.
"So it's an entirely different dynamic that we do see in Kent County," Becker said at a press conference announcing charges against Ortiz-Vite. "We've got two cases now that resulted in Kent County, but that probably ignores all the other types of cases out there that are your 'normal,' your low-level that don't result in a homicide that we're, as law enforcement, want to have cooperations with the victim, but this adds another element in terms of why victims don't wanna cooperate, so that does pose a challenge for law enforcement."
State Rep. Gina Johnsen (R-Lake Odessa) called the case a "wake-up call."
"My heart goes out to the family of the young victim killed in this tragic, senseless shooting. This devastating event, perpetrated by an illegal immigrant, underscores the urgent need for strengthened U.S. border control measures that ensure the safety and security of communities throughout the country, including right here in West Michigan," Johnsen said in a statement released after Tuesday's press conference.
