By Kenneth Schrupp | The Center Square
(Worthy News) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s parole board has granted early release to an illegal immigrant convicted of killing two Americans.
Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano was convicted of killing two Southern California teens while he was drunk, high and speeding over 100 miles per hour. He is set to be released three years into his 10-year sentence.
Federal officials have since placed a detainer on the convict to prevent his release back into the public. They have said they are prosecuting Ortega-Anguiano with charges that could send him to federal prison for up to 20 years.
Fox News immigration correspondent Bill Melugin reported on the pending release of Ortega-Anguiano, who was convicted in 2022 for gross vehicular manslaughter for killing two U.S. citizens in Seal Beach: the American 19-year-olds, Anya Varfolomeev and Nikolay Osokin, who were dating, burned to death after Ortega-Anguinano crashed into them.
Ortega-Anguinano had a lengthy rap sheet, including multiple felony convictions, time in state prison and “multiple convictions for driving without a license.”
On Easter Sunday, the California Department of Corrections notified the teens’ parents that Ortega-Anguiano would be released in July, just three and a half years into his 10-year sentence.
“Twice deported illegal alien from Mexico, Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano, is serving time after being convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, which resulted in the deaths of an American couple. His previous criminal convictions include burglary in 2005, vehicle theft in 2007, and battery on a spouse with kidnapping in 2014,” announced the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “After serving just three years of a 10-year sentence, [ICE] has placed a detainer with the California Department of Corrections upon his release.”
However, because California often does not comply with ICE detainers, and in many cases, the state’s sanctuary laws prevent ICE from being notified of the imminent release of illegal immigrant convicts, the teens’ families fear Ortega-Anguiano may still end up back in the United States.
“They hope the CA Dept. of Corrections will honor the detainer request and transfer him to their custody upon his release, which they often do,” wrote Melugin, who spoke to the teens’ families. “But the families fear, even if he is deported, he will just re-enter the US as a gotaway, as he’s done twice before.”
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli has since announced he is prosecuting Ortega-Anguiano under federal felony immigration charges.
“My office has filed a felony immigration charge against this defendant. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted for 8 USC 1326,” said Essayli. “If the State of California will not seek the full measure of justice against this individual, the [U.S. Department of Justice] will.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
An international group of influential climate activists demand a new global treaty to phase out fossil fuels to prevent the “assassination of humanity,” despite growing concerns that there aren’t yet enough alternatives available to sustain global economic growth.
A coalition of American Christian leaders gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Friday to pray and “thank President Donald J. Trump” for reportedly designating Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) over the killing of thousands of Christians by Islamic groups.
The student revival movement that has been shaking campuses across America surged again Tuesday night as more than 6,000 students packed J.S. Dorton Arena at North Carolina State University to worship Jesus Christ, hear the Gospel, and respond to the call of salvation.
The U.S. Justice Department came under mounting pressure to release all files related to deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, despite strong opposition from the White House and signs that U.S. President Donald J. Trump is reluctant to make the documents fully public.
France paid an emotional tribute Thursday to the 130 people killed ten years ago during a night of coordinated attacks by Islamic State extremists who targeted cafés, restaurants, and the Bataclan concert hall in Paris.
The Trump administration on Nov. 13 finalized a sweeping rollback of Biden-era restrictions on oil and gas development in Alaska, restoring access to more than 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska (NPR-A) in a move officials say will bolster U.S. energy security and revive North Slope communities.
The United States on Thursday urged the UN Security Council to support Washington’s draft resolution establishing an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to secure postwar Gaza and guide the territory into a future “free from Hamas.” The measure — a central pillar of President Donald Trump’s broader Middle East peace framework — has been crafted with input from Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.