JOSE PAXTOR-OXLAJ, a 45-year-old from Guatemala, has pleaded guilty to illegal reentry into the United States after being removed. U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester announced the plea from Oklahoma City.
According to court records, a federal Grand Jury indicted Paxtor-Oxlaj on September 17, 2024, for reentering the country after his previous deportation. The charge follows a November 21, 2023 accident near Elk City, Oklahoma, where Paxtor-Oxlaj, as the driver, was involved in a crash that resulted in the deaths of six of his passengers, including five children, and left a seventh passenger critically injured.
Homeland Security Investigations and Immigration Customs Enforcement conducted an investigation showing Paxtor-Oxlaj was ordered to be removed in 2010 by an Immigration Judge and deported to Guatemala shortly after. Investigators confirmed he reentered the U.S. without authorization.
U.S. Attorney Troester commented, "Six individuals would be alive today, including five children, and another would not have been critically injured, if this defendant did not illegally reenter the United States after his deportation." He acknowledged the efforts of federal and state law enforcement officials and prosecutors working on the case.
Paxtor-Oxlaj admitted to being in the U.S. without the necessary consent from the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security. His sentencing will occur in federal court within the next two to three months.
Additionally, in Beckham County District Court, Paxtor-Oxlaj was convicted on six counts of first-degree manslaughter and one count of causing an accident resulting in great bodily injury without a valid driver's license. He received a four-year state prison sentence.
The case results from investigations by HSI, ICE, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Hale and Elizabeth Joynes. Further information can be found in public records.