An illegal immigrant who had been set free on a previous DUI charge and was deported five years ago is now in the hands of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being charged in the hit-and-run death of a 61-year-old North Carolina man.
Richard Ferguson Jr. was killed on Sept. 13 after a vehicle went off the road, hit two signs, and then hit Ferguson, killing him, according to WRAL-TV.
Wilmer Fuentes Mejia, 30, was arrested four days later. Police charged him with hit and run, involuntary manslaughter, and driving with a revoked license. He was also detained on a 2020 DUI charge, according to a Durham police Facebook post.
ICE has since issued a detainer to have Mejia released to its custody, according to a Department of Homeland Security news release.
Mejia is an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who has an assault arrest on his record in addition to the DUI.
🚨 Durham County, NC: Last month, illegal alien Wilmer Marcotulio Fuentes Mejia was arrested for Hit-and-Run and Involuntary Manslaughter in the pedestrian death of Richard Ferguson, Jr.@WRAL reports that ICE confirmed Fuentes Mejia is an illegal alien and “a prosecutor said he… pic.twitter.com/Obm18BzdRm
— Illegal Alien Crimes (@ImmigrantCrimes) October 14, 2025
“Wilmer Fuentes Mejia is a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala who has a history of driving while intoxicated and was previously deported by ICE in 2020,” Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
“A local DA allowed him to walk free after multiple DUIs only to then cause this fatal hit-and-run that killed an innocent 61-year-old man in North Carolina,” she said.
🚨This tragedy should have NEVER happened.
Richard Ferguson Jr., a 61-year-old North Carolina man, was killed by a criminal illegal alien who was driving under the influence.
Wilmer Fuentes Mejia had previously been deported by ICE, and his criminal history includes TWO… pic.twitter.com/nVhymr2DKV
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) October 17, 2025
“Richard Ferguson Jr. will get justice. ICE lodged a detainer for this criminal to ensure this menace and public safety threat isn’t released back onto America’s streets,” she said.
Mejia, also known as Werner Orosco-Clemente, entered the U.S. in 2015 illegally but was set free during the Obama administration, the DHS news release said.
In 2019, an immigration judge ordered him to be removed. He was deported in 2020, but returned at a time officials could not specify.
Mejia was charged with DUI in Wake County in 2020 and was set free without bond. He never showed up for his court date.
During Meija’s court hearing last month after he was arrested, a Durham judge set his bond at $5 million.
“Praise God, hallelujah, thank you, Jesus!” Ferguson’s sister Allie Williams said.
“Our brother worked since he was 14 and never has he been able to even enjoy a vacation with his own retirement,” his sister Ramonica Cannon said. “We need to stop this from happening to another family.”
Asked about the 2020 decision to set Mejia free without bond, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said such releases are not uncommon.
“It has not been unusual for defendants to receive a written promise to appear and be released to a sober adult if they have no history of prior offenses and no history of missing court which appears to have been the situation here. NCGS 15A-534.2 provides a right to pretrial release in driving while impaired cases where an individual is either no longer impaired or a sober adult is willing to take custody,” she said.
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