A man accused of killing eight people outside a Texas migrant facility has a lengthy criminal record, according to police.
The driver, identified as 34-year-old George Alvarez, ran over a group of about 20 people, many of them newly arrived immigrants from Venezuela, at a bus stop in front of the Ozanam Center, a homeless and migrant shelter in Brownsville, and was arraigned on eight counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, reported The Daily Beast.
“The SUV ran a red light, lost control, clipped on his side and struck a total of 18 individuals,” said Brownsville police chief Felix Sauceda.
Police said the Brownsville resident has previously been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, assault against an elderly or disabled person, four counts of assault causing bodily injury to a family member, and at least 11 other charges.
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He pleaded guilty in 2006 to assault on a public servant for striking a detention officer in jail and sentenced to eight years in prison, but that was dropped in 2010 after an appeals court used newly released video to overturn the conviction.
Police aren't sure whether Alvarez intended to kill the migrants gathered at the bus stop or whether the crash was accidental, and investigators are still awaiting toxicology results and declined to confirm whether he uttered anti-immigrant comments during his arrest.
