Undocumented suspects mistakenly released, rearrested in connection with east Charlotte homicide

CHARLOTTE — Two undocumented immigrants were mistakenly released from the Mecklenburg County jail after being charged with accessory to first-degree murder.

The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office said both of the suspects were rearrested on Monday, and their mistaken release came down to missing paperwork.

According to the MCSO, Jose Rivera-Martinez and Reyna Ulloa-Martinez were transferred from the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to Mecklenburg County’s Arrest Processing Center from Georgia on Friday. The sheriff’s office says they were brought to face charges in connection with a homicide that happened in May in east Charlotte.

The sheriff’s office says that when they get inmates from ICE, they can get a writ that would tell the sheriff’s office to keep the individual in custody and then return them to their original jurisdiction “upon conclusion of his/her business in Mecklenburg County court.”

According to MCSO, deputies asked Georgia transport officer if there were writs for the Martinezes, and they were informed that there weren’t. The Martinezes were booked into custody for “accessory after the fact” charges, and released on unsecured bonds, according to the sheriff’s office.

MCSO found out the Martinezes did have writs late Friday afternoon, and authorities tried to get them back in custody over the weekend. The pair were rearrested on Monday when they showed up for initial appearances on the accessory charges.

Channel 9 found court documents that say the Martinezes face charges in connection with the killing of Kevin Gabriel Merlos.

According to court documents, Merlos was allegedly killed by Jose Ulloa-Martinez on May 26. Ulloa-Martinez was arrested in Texas a little over a week after the alleged shooting.

The court documents say that the Martinezes helped Ulloa-Martinez after the alleged shooting. Jose Rivera-Martinez is accused of helping Ulloa-Martinez get away from the area and getting “fictitious identification documents” for him; Reyna is accused of helping get fictitious identification documents for him.

Authorities didn’t say how Reyna and Jose Ulloa-Martinez are related.

It’s unclear what led to the Martinezes being arrested by ICE originally, but they both have undocumented identification numbers. Court documents list them both as having addresses in South Carolina.

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