Darwin Francisco Quituizaca-Duchitanga, 40, of Ecuador, was sentenced in New Haven on Wednesday to over a year in prison for illegally reentering the United States. <\/p>\n
NEW HAVEN, Conn. \u2014 An Ecuadorian man with a previous manslaughter conviction was sentenced in Connecticut<\/a> on Wednesday for illegally returning to the United States after being deported.<\/p>\n Darwin Francisco Quituizaca-Duchitanga, 40, is a citizen of Ecuador who also goes by \u201cDarwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca\u201d and \u201cJuan Mendez-Gutierrez.\u201d<\/p>\n According to a report from the interim U.S. Attorney<\/a> for the District of Connecticut on Wednesday, he was sentenced in New Haven federal court to a year and a day in prison.<\/p>\n RELATED: Ecuadorian man deported from US for manslaughter allegedly reentered Connecticut<\/a><\/p>\n Court documents and statements made show that in December 2003, Quituizaca was found by U.S. Border Patrol personnel while using the alias Juan Mendez-Gutierrez. He was issued a voluntary return to Mexico after claiming to be a Mexican citizen.<\/p>\n Sometime over the next 15 years, Quituizaca illegally returned to the U.S.<\/p>\n Connecticut State Police arrested him in March 2018 while he was using the alias Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca. He was charged with offenses connected to a fatal motor vehicle crash on Interstate 91 in North Haven in March 2017.<\/p>\n Sign up for the FOX61 newsletters:\u00a0Morning Forecast, Morning Headlines, Evening Headlines<\/a><\/p>\n On Aug. 30, 2018, personnel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement came upon Quituizaca in Meriden. They arrested him on an administrative warrant while he was at liberty awaiting trial in his state case.<\/p>\n In September 2018, an immigration judge ordered Quituizaca to be removed from the U.S. and brought back to Ecuador, but he was then taken to state custody to face his pending charges.<\/p>\n In January 2019, Quituizaca was convicted in Connecticut Superior Court of second-degree manslaughter and sentenced to two years and six months in prison.<\/p>\n RELATED: Convicted Guatemalan sentenced for returning to US, trying to have sex with teen in Connecticut<\/a><\/p>\n Quituizaca was released from state prison on an unknown date. Prosecutors say that on Aug. 15, 2023, ICE encountered and arrested him on an administrative warrant of removal in Meriden.<\/p>\n He was taken back to Ecuador in September 2023 but illegally returned to the U.S. and was arrested by ICE personnel again in Meriden on June 28, 2025. Quituizaca has been detained since this arrest.<\/p>\n On July 30, 2025, Quituizaca pleaded guilty to unlawful reentry.<\/p>\n The case was investigated by ICE\u2019s Enforcement and Removal Operations team and is part of Operation Take Back America, which uses the resources of the U.S. Department of Justice to curb the invasion of undocumented immigrants, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect American communities from violent crime.<\/p>\n Dalton Zbierski is a story desk editor and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at\u00a0dzbierski@FOX61.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at\u00a0newstips@fox61.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS<\/p>\n Download the FOX61 News APP<\/p>\n iTunes:\u00a0Click here<\/a> to download<\/p>\n Google Play:\u00a0Click here<\/a> to download<\/p>\n Stream Live on ROKU:\u00a0Add the channel from the ROKU store<\/a> or by searching FOX61.<\/p>\n Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search \u2018FOX61\u2019 and click \u2018Get\u2019 to download.<\/p>\n \u00a0FOLLOW US ON\u00a0X<\/a>,\u00a0FACEBOOK<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/a><\/p>\n