Updated Nov. 2 10:18 a.m.
By Matt Aiken and Julianne Akers
The man accused of killing 25-year-old Minelys Rodriguez-Ramirez of Cornelia last week is said to be living in the U.S. illegally.
State Sen. John Albers (R-Roswell), who also serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Safety, told The Northeast Georgian that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) found Angel DeJesus Rivera-Sanchez, who resides in Cornelia, is living in the country illegally while residing in the county.
“One hundred percent confirmed,” Albers said. “He is an illegal immigrant from Mexico.”
GBI agents located Rivera-Sanchez, 24, at a bus station in Atlanta on Oct. 28, and arrested him on kidnapping charges relating to the disappearance of Rodriguez-Ramirez.
Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell said the GBI used phone records to locate Rivera-Sanchez.
Terrell said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has put a detainer on Rivera-Sanchez, but has not specified his citizenship status to the sheriff’s office. “I don’t know for 100 percent,” he said. “I believe he is in this country illegally.”
Terrell said he thinks Homeland Security is staying tight-lipped on the subject because of next week’s presidential election.
“I think we’re being stonewalled. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what next Tuesday is and the quieter the better,” said Terrell. “That’s just my philosophy on it because it’s a federal agency and there’s nobody to hold them accountable. There’s no boss you can call to make that happen.”
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Nov. 2 10:18 a.m. Update: Terrell said he got a phone call from Homeland Security on Saturday morning confirming that Rivera-Sanchez was living in the U.S. illegally.
“They have verified it through fingerprints and documents and different things, but they have come out and said that he is illegal,” he said.
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He noted that Rivera-Sanchez’s immigration status makes no difference to the court system as they continue with the case, and Homeland Security cannot do anything until the current proceedings are finished.
“They’re not going to get him until the state of Georgia is done with him, which could be 20, 30, 40 years, a lifetime,” he said.
Rivera-Sanchez made his first appearance in Habersham County Magistrate Court on Nov. 1 where he was read the charges of murder and kidnapping. He was represented by a public defender. He is currently being held at the Habersham County Jail with bond denied.
Rivera-Sanchez is set for a bond hearing on his kidnapping charge on Nov. 20.
Albers called for stricter security at the U.S. border in light of Rodriguez-Ramirez’s death.
“This is avoidable. This person never should have been in this country,” he said. “The evidence is damning. And you know what? This is why a secure border is so important. It’s terrible enough when this happens in America and specifically in Georgia but it’s even worse when someone should not have been here to begin with.”
Albers and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) issued a joint press release on Thursday calling for federal action to further secure the U.S. border, noting the murder of Laken Riley, a nursing student killed on the University of Georgia campus in February.
“How many more lives must be lost due to the open-border policies in Washington, D.C.? The administration’s failure to address this issue impacts families here in Georgia and across the United States,” Albers said in the release. “Earlier this year, our community mourned the tragic death of Laken Riley, a resident of my district, and now we mourn Mimi Rodriguez-Ramirez. These were preventable tragedies, and we will not forget them. Say their names.”
Rodriguez-Ramirez, 25, was last seen near Walmart in Cornelia around 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 22, and she was reported missing on Oct. 23.
Terrell said article search K-9s from the state were used to locate her remains which were found on Furniture Drive where Walmart is located.
Rodriguez-Ramirez’s remains were taken to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office where they will conduct an autopsy.
Rodriguez-Ramirez garnered thousands of followers on TikTok, a mobile video app, where she documented fitness routines and shared stories about her daughter. A GoFundMe organized by Rodgriguez-Ramirez’s family has collected more than $12,500 to pay for funeral expenses and transport her to Puerto Rico where she was born. The GoFundMe can be found at gofund.me/9ffcf1fe.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact the GBI at 800-597-8477, use the See Something, Send Something mobile app or submit online tips at gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online.
When the investigation is complete, the case will be given to the Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.