Federal criminal immigration charges were filed Friday against a Mexican man suspected of injuring a 6-year-old San Ysidro boy in a DUI hit-and-run crash last weekend.

Authorities have said that Constantino Banda-Acosta, 38, has been removed from the U.S. at least 15 times since 2002 for being in the country illegally.

Based on federal court records, this appears to be the first time he has been criminally charged.

The complaint, filed in San Diego federal court, charges Banda-Acosta with being a deported unauthorized immigrant found in the United States.


According to the complaint, Banda-Acosta was first removed from the U.S. to Mexico via the Tecate Port of Entry on Nov. 12, 2002. He was most recently removed on Jan. 17 at the San Luis Port of Entry in Arizona.

The injured boy’s father, Benjamin Lake, spoke to reporters Friday outside Rady Children’s Hospital where his son Lennox is recovering. He said the background of the case is “upsetting.”

“We’re just really focused on Lennox right now,” he said. “We’re praying that the justice system does what they need to do.”

Banda-Acosta is currently in a San Diego County jail on felony charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a blood-alcohol level of more than 0.08 percent and hit-and-run, plus a misdemeanor charge of driving without a license. If convicted, he faces a possible sentence of seven years and eight months in prison.


If convicted of the federal immigration charge, Banda-Acosta could face additional time in custody.

On May 6, Banda-Acosta is suspected of speeding through a stop sign on Camino de la Plaza at Dairy Mart Road in San Ysidro and striking a Honda Accord.

The Lake family had been returning home from a trip to Disneyland. Lennox suffered a skull fracture and other injuries and is recovering well enough to be moved out of the hospital’s intensive care unit, his father said.

Banda-Acosta was arrested about a mile away by Border Patrol in his damaged pickup. He has pleaded not guilty.


He has been arrested in San Diego County before — on charges of domestic violence, DUI and driving on a suspended license, according to court records. They resulted in misdemeanor convictions.

Further details about Banda-Acosta’s deportations cannot be released due to privacy rules, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lauren Mack.

Mack could not speak specifically about this case, but said, “On a regular basis ICE files charges against people who’ve illegally entered the U.S. after being deported. We have also increased our efforts to seek criminal prosecution against egregious immigration violators.”

A Mexican citizen who has been removed from the U.S. 15 times was arrested in a hit-and-run crash that left a boy, 6, badly hurt over the weekend.


Banda-Acosta’s federal case can proceed a few ways. He will be notified of the federal charge and be given an opportunity to decide whether to give up his right to a speedy trial. If he doesn’t want to give up that right, his case must be tried within 180 days, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

If he decides to waive that right, then federal prosecutors can wait to try his case once his DUI case is finished, or, if convicted, even wait until he has completed a prison sentence on the state case, officials said.

Standing outside the hospital, Lake thanked the public for their support and well wishes, and the hospital staff for their commitment to Lennox’s recovery.

Lake also praised his wife for rushing to Lennox’s car seat after the crash and giving authorities a description of the hit-and-run driver’s pickup.


“She’s my better half,” Lake said of his wife, who has not left her son’s side at the hospital.

Upon regaining consciousness, Lennox’s first question was “if mom was OK,” Lake said. The boy didn’t remember the crash, but his parents were honest about about what had happened.

As days at the hospital go by, Lake said, Lennox misses his dog, older brothers and video games.

Lake declined to address Banda’s immigration legal troubles. He did, however, speak out against driving under the influence of alcohol, calling it irresponsible in this day and age, given that ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft exist as alternatives.


“It seems senseless to me,” he said.


kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis

UPDATES:

5 p.m.: This story was updated with details from the victim’s family.


This story was originally published at 1:30 p.m.