Honduran extradited from Texas to New York on rape, strangulation charges

From Honduras to Mexico across the U.S.-Mexico border to New York to Texas, border crimes continue to reverberate throughout the country.

In one case, a Honduran national illegally crossed the southwest border and made his way to New York where he stands accused of violently raping and attempting to strangle to death an intoxicated man outside of a restaurant in Long Island. He then traveled to Texas attempting to flee to Mexico. Instead, he was arrested in Texas and extradited to New York.

“This is one of the most egregious criminal offenses that I’ve come across in my entire career and another example of why it’s vital for law enforcement at all levels to work together in the interest of public safety,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez said.

Honduran national Jose Ignacio Bonilla-Garcia was arrested in Fort Bend County, Texas, on a criminal arrest warrant from Suffolk County, New York, for “allegedly beating a man unconscious and then dragging him behind a dumpster and raping him while he was incapacitated,” ICE said.

He is charged with committing the violent crime in a restaurant parking lot in Amityville, New York, in March, the Suffolk County DA said. Suffolk County authorities learned he left New York on a Greyhound Bus and coordinated with Texas law enforcement to track him down.

U.S. Marshals Service’s Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force members arrested him south of Houston near Richmond, “as he was allegedly attempting to flee to Mexico.” He was then booked into the Fort Bend County Jail where ICE lodged a detainer request and he was extradited to New York.

“With a limited amount of time to work with, and a lot of ground to cover, the law enforcement community quickly came together to help track down this dangerous fugitive and he was safely taken into custody by the U.S Marshals,” Martinez said. “Without teamwork and collaboration between law enforcement at all levels, the outcome would have likely been very different.”

Bonilla-Garcia has illegally entered the U.S. at least four times, ICE said. He was deported three times during the first Trump administration in 2020 under Title 42. He illegally entered a fourth time “on an unknown date and at an unknown location” as a gotaway and made his way to New York.

The high-profile arrest was among hundreds made in recent weeks in the Houston area.

ICE Houston officers recently arrested 277 illegal foreign nationals with a criminal history of a combined 751 offenses.

Combined, they also illegally entered the U.S. 654 times, ICE said. Some who were arrested had illegally entered more than 20 times each.

Among those arrested were 17 accused child predators, six murderers, 16 drug traffickers, 15 gang members/associates, 67 robbers, two foreign fugitives wanted for murder and 11 convicted of hit-and-run, ICE said.

Their combined convictions include six homicide convictions, 156 DWI convictions “(including 13 aliens convicted of three or more DWIs),” 11 convictions for hit-and-run, 74 convictions for assault, 15 convictions for “alien smuggling,” 14 convictions for illegal weapons or firearms offenses, 108 convictions for drug possession, 29 convictions for resisting or evading arrest, 16 convictions for fraud or forgery and eight convictions for trespassing, ICE said.

ICE also cited examples of dozens of men who were convicted child rapists in their home countries, illegally entered the U.S., including more than once, and were later convicted of sexual assault of a child in Texas. They have all been deported.

Other examples include Mexican Paisas gang members who illegally entered the U.S. between 11 and 24 times each. Their multiple convictions include DWI, alien smuggling, aggravated robbery, larceny, drug possession, resisting arrest, hit and run, assault, burglary and vehicle theft.

One who illegally entered the U.S. eight times had 26 convictions including 20 for drug trafficking and drug possession. Another illegally entered the U.S. 24 times, including 22 times during the Biden administration, and was convicted of alien smuggling.

While nearly all arrested were men, one arrest was of a female Salvadoran national and MS-13 gang member, Haydee Mercado-Rodriguez. She was convicted and sentenced to 228 years in prison on two counts of aggravated homicide and one count each of aggravated extortion and participation in a terrorist organization before she fled to the U.S. Despite her criminal record, the Biden administration released her into the country in 2024, ICE said.

ICE-ERO Houston officers operate in 58 counties in Southeast Texas stretching from Beaumont to Houston, Galveston and Corpus Christi and as far west and central as Waco. They are encouraging members of the public to report crimes and suspicious activity by calling 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or filing a tip online.