An appeals court on Tuesday denied a petition seeking the release of Jorge Ivan Arellano, 41, convicted of intoxication manslaughter and assault in the deaths of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, her husband, and a Border Patrol agent in a drunken driving accident in 2006.
In May 2007, Judge Leonel Alejandro in the 357th state District Court handed Arellano four life sentences to run consecutively after a jury found Arellano guilty on on both counts.
Former Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos, who is currently appealing a 13-year sentence for his role in a bribery and extortion scheme that began in 2006, told reporters at the time that Arellano would not be eligible for parole for the next 120 years.
Court records show that the 13th Court of Appeals dismissed Arellano’s case in January 2019.
He then appealed to the Criminal Court of Appeals, which on Tuesday denied Arellano’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus without a written order. The court also denied a separate motion filed on Arellano’s behalf for leave to file a writ of mandamus.
Arellano remains incarcerated at the McConnell Unit in Beeville. A projected release date was not available.
On March 5, 2006, Arellano allegedly missed a stop sign in his Ford Explorer and crashed into a Ford Mustang. Mario Gonzalez, 24, a Border Patrol agent, as well as Cynthia Hernandez Carreon, 23, a CBP officer based in Rio Grande City and her husband Jorge Alberto Carreon, 24, both of La Joya, died as a result of the accident.
