Senators seek immigration, criminal records of man charged in deputy’s death

Two U.S. senators, including Jerry Moran of Kansas, issued a letter Friday seeking information from immigration officials about the man accused of killing a Johnson County sheriff’s deputy.

In their letter to the head of the Department of Homeland Security, Moran and Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa requested the full criminal and immigration history of Adrian Espinosa-Flores.

The senators said they wanted to know why Espinosa-Flores was allowed to remain in the country despite previous criminal convictions.

Espinosa-Flores, 38, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and leaving the scene of a traffic crash in connection with the Sept. 11 death of Master Deputy Brandon Collins.

Collins was conducting a traffic stop on U.S. 69 in Overland Park when a pickup truck driven by Espinosa-Flores crashed into the rear of his patrol vehicle.

Johnson County prosecutors allege that Espinosa-Flores was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the wreck.

He is being held in jail on a bond of $2 million.

After his arrest, U.S. immigration officials filed paperwork to hold Espinosa-Flores on suspicion of violation of immigration laws.

According to officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Espinosa-Flores had a 2001 DUI conviction in California and a 2013 conviction in Overland Park for driving without a license.

But ICE officials said their records do not show that they were ever notified after either of the arrests.

This story was originally published September 16, 2016 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Senators seek immigration, criminal records of man charged in deputy’s death."