Overview
- Police say Werner Orosco-Clemente, also known as Wilmer Fuentes Mejia, was driving drunk on Sept. 13 when he ran off Chalk Level Road, struck signs, hit 61-year-old Richard Ferguson Jr., and fled the scene.
- Mejia is charged with hit-and-run, involuntary manslaughter, and driving with a revoked license in the Durham crash.
- DHS said ICE lodged a detainer with the Durham County Detention Center, and federal authorities now report he is in their custody.
- Immigration records show he first entered the U.S. illegally in 2015, was ordered removed in 2019, deported in 2020, and later reentered at an unknown time.
- DHS cited prior apprehensions for DUIs and assault and criticized local decisions to release him after a 2020 Wake County DUI arrest, when he was freed without bond and later failed to appear in court, while the victim’s family called for accountability.