Updated Feb. 26 at 4 p.m. to include comments by County Assistant Administrative Officer Earl Stoddard
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Officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Montgomery County Executive’s office expect to meet this week to review communications procedures concerning detainer requests.
Earlier this month, a driver stole a state highway truck and led police on a chase from Prince George’s County and into Montgomery County along Route 29, crashing into 13 vehicles along the way.
The driver, Flavio Cesar Lanuza, 27, of Laurel, is a citizen of Nicaragua who is in this country unlawfully, confirmed Enforcement and Removal Operations Baltimore Spokesperson James Covington.
When ICE learned of Lanuza’s arrest, it issued a detainer request with the Montgomery County Detention Center with the intention of taking Lanuza into its custody.
However, county officials said they received a detainer notice after the Feb. 16 incident. There was not a detainer notice involving Lanuza earlier, County Assistant Administrative Officer Earl Stoddard.
There are “competing narratives” about the notification, Council President Andrew Friedson said during his weekly press briefing. Friedson added forcefully, “Montgomery County is not a sanctuary jurisdiction. We have to follow the law, and we also have to follow the Constitution.”
Friedson explained that the council is not involved in the process. He is optimistic that the upcoming meeting will ensure that the county is notified properly of a detainer request and that the request is made as quickly as possible.
“The process is not broken. This is a question whether the process was followed,” Friedson said.
Stoddard said the county does work with ICE but not until the suspects have their day in court and the matter is adjudicated.
In order to have justice for the victims, the county believes it is important for suspects to go through the legal system before turning them over to ICE, Stoddard explained. That could be soon after the arrest or years later after the suspects have served their sentence.
“We absolutely want this person to face justice,” Stoddard said. In this case, Lanuza is charged with damaging multiple cars and injuring several people, including police officers. These victims deserve to know someone has been held responsible for all this, he said.
In one incident in the past, the county quickly turned over a suspect to ICE after a detainer was issued. That person returned to Montgomery County and committed another crime, Stoddard pointed out.
According to Maryland State Police, Lanuza was involved in a hit and run crash involving four vehicles at the inner loop of 495 at the Greenbelt Metro station. He was driving a Ford Ranger, fled the scene and drove into a Park and Ride lot, where he drove off the road and struck a guard rail.
The driver fled his vehicle and stole a state highway truck. He drove off and entered the outer loop of 495, striking two cars.
Lanuza then entered a parking lot by Beltsville and Calverton roads and struck a pole that was attached to a powerline. According to state police, he then rammed a Maryland State Police vehicle and several more vehicles before entering onto Priscilla Road in Montgomery County.
State and Montgomery County police arrested the driver at 6:30 p.m. after his vehicle became disabled in the 10700 block of Columbia Pike in Silver Spring near the Burnt Mills Shopping Center.
Lanuza was arrested at the scene and transported to Suburban Hospital for treatment of his injuries.
