California sanctuary policy impeded deportation of triple homicide suspect

A deranged illegal migrant, deported from the U.S. three times, is accused in the triple murder of an infant and two other women after California’s controversial state sanctuary law obstructed federal authorities who sought to deport him, The California Post has learned.

Joaquin Escoto, 28 a Mexican national born in Jalisco, was deported from the U.S. three times and arrested for driving under the influence once before he was arrested again in June for another DUI, a senior law enforcement official told The Post.

On the day of Escoto’s second DUI arrest, which occurred in San Joaquin County, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials requested to be notified of the Modesto resident’s release from jail so they could deport him again, according to the official.  

But San Joaquin law enforcement officials hogtied by California’s contested sanctuary law failed to notify the feds, and Escoto was set free, the official said.

“Safe to say, California law prohibited the jail from complying,” said the official, who shared police documents that substantiated his claims with The Post.

Now, Escoto is being held without bail on three counts of murder in the grisly knife slaying in Modesto of an infant and two women, including one with whom he allegedly had a child, according to police.

Modesto Police Department officers discovered evidence of Escoto’s alleged crime Thursday morning around 9:20 a.m. after they responded to a home near Monterey and Thrasher avenues following a 911 call reporting a domestic disturbance.

When officers arrived at the home, they discovered a 23-year-old Fabiola Gonzalez with multiple stab wounds who was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

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Officers continued to search the home and found a second woman, 54-year-old Silvia Nuñez, and Mateo Gonzalez, an infant, both with stab wounds.

Nuñez was pronounced dead at the scene, while the infant died at the hospital, according to police.

An additional child, approximately 4 years old, was found inside the home and taken to the hospital for treatment, police said.

After information gathered at the scene led investigators to believe that the killer remained in the area, officers established a perimeter around the house where the victims were found, and called in a SWAT and hostage negotiators.  

Escoto was later found hiding inside a nearby house, and video posted on the Stockton Chronicle TikTok page showed him being taken into custody without incident.

As a precaution, nearby Orville Wright Elementary School was placed on lockdown, and students and staff were relocated to La Loma Junior High School.  

Investigators believe Escoto shared a child with one of the victims. Police would not say which of the victims was believed to have had a child with Escoto. They also would not say if either of the children found in the house were believed to be his.

Based on a preliminary investigation, detectives believe the killings took place in an isolated incident. Police did not identify a motive for the murders or provide the identities of the victims.

Road closures remained in place on Friday as police continued their investigation of the incident.

“We will do everything that we can to investigate it and bring closure to the families,” said Modesto Police Department Lt. Eric Schuller.

Escoto is set to appear in court on Monday, when he will be officially charged for the three killings.

Representatives for the San Joaquin Sheriff and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Escoto’s previous DUI arrest and immigration actions he allegedly faced.

California’s controversial sanctuary law, passed in 2017, prohibits state and local law enforcement from using resources for federal immigration enforcement.

It also bars police from asking about immigration status, detaining individuals solely for ICE or sharing information with immigration authorities, with some exceptions for certain criminal convictions.

Cities including Los Angeles have their own versions of the law.

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi has said sanctuary laws like those of California “impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design.”

The Justice Department in June filed a suit against Los Angeles over its sanctuary city polices.

“This is a tragedy,” said Schuller of Thursday’s killings. “Words cannot express how terrible this incident is.”