Velazquez indicted by federal grand jury

Illegal immigrant Arturo Olalde-Velazquez, 32, is now facing charges not only from the State of Louisiana for vehicular homicide, but also from the United States of America.
On December 14, 2016, Velazquez was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with one count of re-entry by an alien following removal.
Court records obtained by the Gazette from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana concerning this indictment stated that Velazquez is a “native and citizen of Mexico” and “was found in the United States of America after he had been ordered removed from the United States and subsequently removed on or about March 7, 2013, at or near Del Rio, Texas.”
The federal indictment came approximately three months after Velazquez, who was living and working in the Mamou area, was involved in a fatal crash on La. Highway 13 that claimed the life of 31-year-old Dustin Vidrine of Ville Platte. The blood sample submitted by Velazquez following the accident revealed that the illegal immigrant’s blood alcohol level was .20 at the time of the crash, which is .12 over the legal limit.
According to Velazquez’s booking card from the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office, the illegal immigrant was employed as a farmer for Broud Soileau at the time of his arrest.
Following the indictment, the Gazette reached out to Soileau who said he had “no comment” regarding this matter.
According to the Evangeline Parish District Attorney’s Office, they will be working with the U.S. Attorney General’s Office to try and ensure that each entity is able to prosecute Velazquez for the crimes he has been accused of committing. However, the fine details of how this will be done have not been worked out.
In Evangeline Parish, Velazquez, who is being represented by attorney Jonathan Vidrine, is facing charges of vehicular homicide, no seat belt, driving left of center and operating a vehicle without a driver’s license. He remains incarcerated in the parish jail on a $100,000.00 bond.
Velazquez is set to appear in Judge Chuck West’s courtroom on February 23, 2017 in reference to the charges he faces Evangeline Parish.