An illegal alien accused of killing a father of two, Corey Cottrell, in June has been released from law enforcement custody into the United States by an Obama-appointed judge for the second time since Cottrell’s death.
As Breitbart News has chronicled, Jose Rodriguez, a 27-year-old illegal alien from Honduras, is accused of running a red light on June 22 in Illinois, causing him to hit and kill 39-year-old Corey Cottrell, who was riding his motorcycle at the time to visit his mother Kathy. Police said Rodriguez fled the scene of the accident and turned himself in the following day.
Rodriguez was ordered to be deported six years ago but never left the U.S. Later, it was revealed that the sanctuary state of Illinois issued a driver’s license to Rodriguez. Though the Cottrells consider the case a murder, to date, Rodriguez has only been charged with fleeing the scene of an accident with a death involved, speeding, and running a red light.
Bail for Rodriguez was originally set at $1,000,000. However, McLean County Judge Scott Drazewski lowered Rodriguez’s bail to $100,000, allowing him to be freed by paying only a small portion of that price.
After being released from McLean County custody, Rodriguez was taken into custody by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. From there, Rodriguez was able to appeal his deportation order from six years ago, and federal immigration Judge Samuel Cole allowed the illegal alien to be freed from ICE custody without any GPS monitoring on November 15.
Judge Cole was appointed to his position in August 2016 by former President Obama’s Attorney General, Loretta Lynch.
While Rodriguez was freed from ICE custody, family friend Cheryl Wendland told Breitbart News that the Cottrell family was not told the illegal alien had been released until almost a month later.
“Rodriguez is out and my best friend can’t even celebrate Christmas this year because she is so broken,” Wendland said of Corey’s mother. “Corey’s death has been completely irradicated from this whole case. It’s all about the illegal alien and not about that this man’s death was completely avoidable.”
“The absolute lack of justice is what frustrates me the most,” Wendland said.
A bench trial in the criminal case has been set for January 2020.
Corey leaves behind his mother Kathy, his 11- and 14-year-old daughters Karina and Alexandra, his sister Shanna, his grandmother Virginia, as well as his aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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