Darwin Francisco Quituizaca-Duchitanga, a 40-year-old Ecuadorian national also known as Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca and Juan Mendez-Gutierrez, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for illegally reentering the United States after deportation. The sentence was issued by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven, according to an announcement from David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Court records show that Quituizaca first encountered U.S. Border Patrol in December 2003 under the alias Juan Mendez-Gutierrez and was voluntarily returned to Mexico after claiming Mexican citizenship.
In March 2018, Quituizaca was arrested by Connecticut State Police using another alias, Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca, following a fatal motor vehicle accident on I-91 in North Haven that occurred in March 2017. On August 30, 2018, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him in Meriden while he awaited trial on state charges. In September of that year, an immigration judge ordered his removal to Ecuador; however, he was transferred back to state custody due to pending criminal proceedings.
Quituizaca was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in January 2019 by Connecticut Superior Court and sentenced to two and a half years in prison. He later left state custody on an unspecified date.
ICE again encountered Quituizaca on August 15, 2023, arresting him with an administrative warrant of removal in Meriden. He was deported to Ecuador the following month but subsequently reentered the United States unlawfully. ICE arrested him once more on June 28, 2025.
He has remained detained since this most recent arrest and pleaded guilty to unlawful reentry on July 30, 2025.
The investigation into this case was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel George prosecuted the case.
According to federal authorities, "This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime."
