Orange County, California, District Attorney Todd Spitzer said there was not a “plea deal” made in the case of an illegal immigrant convicted of manslaughter in the death of two teens after new scrutiny over the man’s early release from a California prison.
“A convicted felon who was twice previously deported is being released after serving just a fraction of his sentence for killing two 19-year-olds because California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature refuse to hold criminals accountable,” the Republican said in a news release Wednesday.
“This was not a plea deal. This was a defendant who pled to the court and was sentenced by a judge under California law, over the objection of Orange County prosecutors, who unsuccessfully argued for the maximum sentence.”
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom campaigns for President Joe Biden at a county Democratic Party event in South Haven, Michigan, on July 4, 2024. (Chris duMond/Shutterstock)
“California’s creative concoction of good time, education and other credits has resulted in criminals being released quicker than ever before, fulfilling Gov. Newsom’s plot to empty California’s prisons and put dangerous and violent felons back on the street,” Spitzer added.
Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano was driving drunk and high and speeding at nearly 100 mph on the 405 freeway in Orange County in November 2021, when he crashed into a car carrying 19-year-old Anya Varfolomeev and Nicholay Osokin. Both were killed and burned alive. In the spring of 2022, he was convicted of two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
The victims’ families were notified on Easter Sunday that Ortega-Anguiano would be released early on July 19, more than six years before his 10-year sentence is up.
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Mugshot of manslaughter convict Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
However, after Fox News’ reporting, Democratic Gov. Newsom’s office said it would comply with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer and transfer him into federal custody. The Department of Justice announced it was filing federal charges against him, and border czar Tom Homan said his agency would do everything possible to keep him in custody.
“After being deported in 2013, this individual unlawfully re-entered the US & committed heinous crimes. A GOP DA then gave him a plea deal instead of pursuing 2nd-degree murder. [California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation] will again coordinate with ICE — as they have w/ 10,000+ inmates — to transfer him before release,” the governor’s press account tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.
In response to Spitzer’s comment, the governor’s office told Fox News on background that district attorneys get a say in what charges are prosecuted in cases. The governor’s office said it was the Orange County District Attorney’s office that dropped great bodily injury enhancements and other charges. Still, it does not play a role in the fact that the individual was scheduled to be released several years sooner, which could have been a part of the state’s credit system to get out early.
“For safety and security reasons, CDCR cannot provide information on an incarcerated person’s release date or location in advance of their release. Incarcerated persons may earn credits for participating in rehabilitative programming, which may move their parole dates to an earlier date,” the corrections department previously told Fox News.
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Anya Varfolomeeva and Nicholay Osokin were killed in an Orange County, California., car crash in 2021. (Courtesy of the Varfolomeev and Osokin families)
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On Thursday morning, Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, told “America’s Newsroom” why the DOJ is pursuing federal prosecution.
“This is what happens when you have an open border policy like we did in the prior administration. But those days are over. Under this administration, our borders are closed,” Essayli said.
“I’ve made it a top priority in my office, and I know throughout the United States, to enforce our immigration laws. So this defendant, he’s not gonna get free. He’s not going to be deported. He’s coming to my jurisdiction, and we’re gonna prosecute him. And once he’s convicted, he’s gonna spend many years in federal prison, and then he’ll be deported again.”
