INDIANPAOLIS -- An immigration judge had ordered Christian Ortez removed to El Salvador in June– 10 months before he is accused of fatally stabbing a 19-year-old on Indy’s northeast side.
Ortez, 35, was charged Tuesday with murder and battery by means of a deadly weapon in connection with the death of 19-year-old Mauricio Beltran on Saturday night.
According to a probable cause affidavit, witnesses told police Ortez, Beltran and several other men were hanging out at a home in the 3700 block of La Fontaine Court when Ortez allegedly took offense at a joke and pulled a knife.
The witness told police Ortez began stabbing another man, Miguel Velasquez, before he “turned his rage” on Beltran.
Velasquez and Beltran were taken to Eskenazi Hospital, where Beltran was pronounced dead hours later.
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SWAT officers eventually found Ortez hiding behind rolls of carpets in a porch area near the apartment he’d fled to. He reportedly had blood on his shirt and left hand. Police also recorded finding a bloody knife where Ortez had been hiding.
In an interview with IMPD detectives, Ortez reportedly admitted to stabbing both Velasquez and Beltran and agreed that he had “overreacted” by using a knife when he’d only been punched.
Following the interview, Ortez was booked into the Marion County Jail on a preliminary charge of murder. Jail records show a federal immigration detainer was placed on Ortez by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
On Thursday, ICE released further information about that detainer, saying Ortez had first been arrested by border patrol officers in September 2016 for illegally entering the United States near Hidalgo, Texas. He was released a few days later after posting bond.
In June 2017, an immigration judge ordered Ortez removed to El Salvvador. Ortez could not be located at the time of the hearing.
Ortez appeared in Marion County Criminal Court 4 for an initial hearing Thursday. His next court appearance was set for May 30.
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