Judge told undocumented murder suspect to leave country weeks before slaying

Jared Vargas (right) had been missing for three days prior to being discovered Monday in the apartment unit in the 7900 block of Jones Maltsberger Road. Ernesto Esquivel-Garcia (left) has been charged with murder, arson and abuse of a corpse in connection to the death. less Jared Vargas (right) had been missing for three days prior to being discovered Monday in the apartment unit in the 7900 block of Jones Maltsberger Road. Ernesto Esquivel-Garcia (left) has been charged with ... more Photo: SAPD/Bexar County Sheriff's Office Photo: SAPD/Bexar County Sheriff's Office Image 1 of / 68 Caption Close Judge told undocumented murder suspect to leave country weeks before slaying 1 / 68 Back to Gallery

The man accused of killing a 20-year-old co-worker last month San Antonio was ordered to leave the U.S. just weeks before the alleged slaying, according to officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

According to an ICE statement, deportation officers on May 29 instructed Ernesto Esquivel-Garcia, who is from Mexico, to leave the country by July 20, a date determined by an immigration judge during removal proceedings sparked by Esquivel-Garcia's arrest on drunken driving charges in 2017.

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Just over three weeks later, but before the deadline for him to be out of the U.S., Esquivel-Garcia was arrested in the death of his 20-year-old former coworker, Jared Vargas, whose body was discovered after it was set ablaze in Esquivel-Garcia's apartment in the 7900 block of Jones Maltsberger on June 18.

He remains in the Bexar County Jail on charges of murder, arson and abuse of a corpse.

According to ICE's statement, the agency first encountered Esquivel-Garcia on March 1, 2017, following his aforementioned arrest on a charge of drunken driving. He was subsequently placed on an immigration detainer, and immigration officials initiated removal proceedings against him, ICE's statement says.

In April 2017, Esquivel-Garcia posted a bond granted by an immigration judge and was released from the Bexar County Jail, according to online court records.

He later received deferred adjudication and was convicted of a lesser charge, obstruction of a highway. A judge sentenced Esquivel-Garcia to a 12-month probation term beginning in January 2018, according to online court records. But his probation was revoked on May 10 for an unknown reason and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

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On May 21, 2018, an immigration judge issued Esquivel-Garcia a voluntary departure order. Such orders require an undocumented immigrant to leave the country of their own accord, but they're allowed to legally seek re-admission to the U.S. at a later time, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.

Voluntary departure orders are commonly issued with departure bonds, a fee that ensures the subject of the order leaves within the allotted time period, according to FindLaw.com.

On May 25, Esquivel-Garcia tried to pay his departure bond at an ICE facility, but immigration officials discovered he had an active warrant and they turned him over to Bexar County officials.

"Four days later, Bexar County transferred Esquivel-Garcia back to ICE, and the same day he posted the departure bond that was set by an immigration judge May 21," according to ICE's statement. "Before departing ICE's office May 29, 2018, ICE deportation officers instructed Esquivel-Garcia to leave the United States by July 20, 2018, as imposed by the immigration judge's voluntary departure order."

Esquivel-Garcia is now being held on another immigration detainer, issued after he was arrested in Jared Vargas's killing. Police have released few details in the case, only saying they charged Esquivel-Garcia in Vargas's death after questioning him.

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Caleb Downs is a crime reporter for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.| cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns