Brandon Ortiz-Vite, an illegal immigrant previously deported under the Trump administration, pleaded guilty to murdering 25-year-old Michigan resident Ruby Garcia. Ortiz-Vite, also 25, admitted to second-degree murder, carjacking, carrying a concealed weapon, and using a firearm in a felony. He killed Garcia in March and dumped her body along a freeway. Garcia’s family pushed for a plea deal, and Ortiz-Vite now faces 30 to 37 years in prison.
Ortiz-Vite turned himself in shortly after the murder, and ICE confirmed he had re-entered the U.S. illegally after being deported to Mexico in 2020. Despite initially living in the U.S. under DACA, his status expired in 2019, a year after being jailed for breaking into an ex-girlfriend’s home. He was deported following a 2020 DUI arrest.
Ortiz-Vite befriended Garcia after illegally returning to the U.S. They argued while she was driving him home, during which he instinctively grabbed a handgun and shot her multiple times. He later called 911 to confess. Ortiz-Vite is scheduled for sentencing on October 31.
