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While friends and family mourn the deaths of a livery cab driver and passenger who were killed by a suspected drunk driver, they are also angry that the suspect was allowed to be driving at all. Daryush Omar, who is charged with drunken driving, criminally-negligent homicide, and driving with a suspended license, faces murder charges in a 2006 incident--and is apparently in the country illegally.
Omar, whose blood alcohol was 0.176 (more than twice the legal limit), said he only had two drinks before getting behind the wheel of his Range Rover. Police say he went through a red light on 31st Avenue in Queens, hitting the livery car at 34th Street and killing driver Bessy Velasquez and passenger Panayiota "Penny" Demetriou. Newsday reports that Omar originally denied he was driving and blamed the accident on Velasquez; he "could barely stand straight and was slurring his speech when police interviewed him at the accident scene moments after the" accident.
Omar also faces murder charges for the beating death of Thomas Whitney in 2006. He was released because the Manhattan DA's office didn't have witnesses. Whitney's father said, "Hopefully he gets convicted on this DUI crime and he does his time.They shouldn't let him back out on the streets."
Also, it turns out that authorities tried to deport Omar previously. According to the Post, he arrived in the U.S. with his mother in 1989 (there are conflicting reports over whether Omar is Pakistani and born in a Pakistani refugee camp in Afghanistan or is an Afghan). Then the Post details a number of instances when, starting in 1992, Omar was told to leave the U.S. but didn't ("In 2005, Omar allegedly renounced his Afghan citizenship in an effort to thwart deportation efforts"). Even after he was charged with the beating murder of Thomas Whitney in 2006, immigration officials did not hold him, explaining that ICE cannot "hold anyone past the legal 180-day limit set by Congress in 2001" and cannot use detention for "punitive reasons."
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If he is an Afgani refuge they should give him back his SUV, send him back to Afganistan, let him get WASTED and send him toward the caves that OSAMA lives in. He'll either get blown up by a mine or the taliwhackers will get 'em. F' this bum!!
So where is Billiamsburg now? He so happily wrote yesterday: "Another upstanding African American citizen celebrates Obama's victory." Wrong on both counts. Neither African nor American. Racists can be so idiotic, especially Republican ones.
drove by this early sunday morning... really sad ;(
If the immigration authorities were on the ball, these two young women might still be alive. Wish they could be sued for dereliction of duty.
ICE is a joke. If anyone should be deported, it's this douchebag.
What I don't get is how ICE took a man (who was applying for his green card) into custody--a letter about his interview was sent to the wrong place-- and let him die there while ignoring his pleas for medical help but then they aren't following up on someone who has murder charges against him.
http://gothamist.com/2008/08/13/details_of_queens_residents_death_i.php
We are living in the age of Obama. We are a nation of immigrants, a melting pot. We must welcome all into our beautiful mosaic of a country regardless of legal status. Why all the undocumented immigrant venom?
Does Hugo come with a mute button, or an ignore feature or something?
I see his posts and wish that CTRL-Z would make them disappear... but it never works. :(
If he's been driving under the influence of alcohol and has been in an accident resulting the the death of two people, he should be jailed for a very long time, twenty years to life would be fine with me.
Really, someone like this should never again see the outside of a prison cell.
We really need to get away from deporting all our problems which is ineffective and always seems to come back on us. The best thing to do is to just switch guys like Omar off. It's better to explain what we did to his home country than to try to explain to grieving families why these animals were out in the streets.
He's not mexican, so ICE doesn't care...
USA,"You have to leave our country now"
Murderer to be, "I don't wanna leave"
USA "OK".
Pakistani, American; what's the difference? Humans are shyt regardless.
#10 - Wouldn't it be better not to import trouble in first place? We don't have to take in everyone who feels entitled to life in USA. Some people just cannot handle themselves in a truly free society.
What a piece of rubbish. You're a filthy turd, Omar.
Really, someone like this should never again see the outside of a prison cell.
And why the heck should I be paying for his room and board?
Now now people I think it might be appropriate to pay to send this illegal back to his home country overseas. It's the only fair thing to do. So sorry he can not afford full fair, so midway over the Atlantic he will need to leave the plane.
@angry pickle--maybe so he won't be able to drink and drive again?
NYC needs to start checking immigration status. too many in the city and a lot of them are not honest working people, trying to make a quick buck. NYC can't sustain this anymore. Also deport hugo mego
Police should be able to stop anyone on the street that looks foreign and demand to see proof of residency. It's only fair to all those that live here legally. If the person is found to be an illegal immigrant the person should be shot or if near a body of water drowned immediately.
Snoopy you must be a card carrying member of the KKK and I'm glad you clearly stumbled off the mayflower that dockeded in Plymouth Harbor nearly 400 years. oops, guess the Indians should have rounded them up and drowned them.
get over yourself... america is a land of immigrants. that's not the issue. the issue is following the rule of the law and making sure now BS gets around it.
get a grip snoopy or else charlie brown will put you in the dog house.
Jen, I think #16 was suggesting death penalty, not letting him walk.
Note to DA's office: If you need a jury pool, look no further than Gothamist commenters.
ok all of you stupid americans listen if someone that was a american did this you guys would say oo its ok he killed 2 foreigners but what are u guys huh are you from here all you do is discriminate against muslims but look at your dumb red neck white "Americans" you guys go on killing sprees do you say this about them no you guys go to church and pray for them you are all pitiful if someone drove drunk and did this to muslims you would say its ok so all of you are a disgrace to human life you so called americans
This is shitty. This drunk driving asshole with a suspended license should be locked up for life REGARDLESS OF WHAT HIS IMMIGRATION STATUS IS.
Note to DA's office: If you need a jury pool, look no further than Gothamist commenters.
Yeah, a jury full of faux-racist internet tough guys who would probably bork the trial by trying to liveblog it from an iPhone is just what the DA needs.
Who you calling a faux-racist?