Centennial State News

Weld County Sheriff's Deputy Alexis Hein-Nutz was killed in a hit and run while on her way to work by an immigrant in the country illegally with prior arrests.

According to 9 News, Hein-Nutz was riding her motorcycle to work when she was struck and killed by a driver earlier this month. The suspect, Norberto Garcia-Gonzales, is an immigrant in the country illegally with a record of prior arrests. Despite the fact that multiple open cans of beer were discovered in his vehicle after he fled from the scene of the crime, he is not being charged with a DUI. He is facing charges of fleeing the scene of an accident, careless driving, failing to yield the right of way, obstructing a peace officer and driving under restraint. Garcia-Gonzales had previously been convicted of a DUI after a hit and run, and had also been convicted of another separate DUI in the past.

"This is a tragedy. Our prayers are with the family, friends and coworkers of Deputy Alexis Hein-Nutz," The Colorado GOP wrote in a Sept. 25 Twitter post.

Hein-Nutz, age 24, had worked with the Weld County Sheriff's Office since 2018, the Denver Post reported.

Small government advocate Mr. T 2, a conservative Twitter personality with more than 18,000 followers, said in a tweet, "A young woman sheriff deputy is dead because of Democrat sanctuary state policies for illegal immigrants in Colorado. At least two prior DUI convictions and at least one prior deportation. Still in Colorado because Democrats made CO a sanctuary state for criminals."

Garcia-Gonzales was apprehended in 2007 while attempting to enter the country illegally, at which time he returned to Mexico, GWN reported. He successfully entered the country illegally at some point after that. Despite the fact that he was arrested in Colorado for drunk driving in 2011 and 2013, he was not deported. He allegedly had a fake green card as well as a fake Social Security card.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed HB 1124 into law in 2019, making Colorado an official sanctuary state, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) reported. The law bans state and local law enforcement from honoring immigration detainers, as well as requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold criminal aliens who are already in custody for up to 48 hours without a judicial warrant. HB 1124 also complicates cooperation between ICE and law enforcement officials on federal immigration initiatives, and probation officers are restricted from sharing information about illegal aliens under their supervision with ICE. 

The open-borders lobby praised Polis for "keeping his promise," with the Colorado Immigrants Right Coalition stating that the bill will help illegal aliens "feel safe" and have the same rights as American citizens. ICE said in a statement, “By signing Colorado’s HB 1124, the state has codified a dangerous policy that deliberately obstructs our country’s lawful immigration system, protects serious criminal alien offenders and undermines public safety.”

Polis will face Republican CU Regent Heidi Ganahl in November's election, according to Ballotpedia.