Dane County sheriff holds woman charged in fatal crash for trial, denying ICE request

The Dane County Sheriff’s Office has denied a request from federal immigration authorities to hand over custody of a woman accused of killing two teens while driving drunk, saying the woman should stand trial for her actions.

Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said deportation would allow the suspect to evade accountability for her alleged crimes, while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is labeling the county as a “sanctuary jurisdiction” that won’t help the federal agency “remove this public safety threat from the U.S.” 

According to the criminal complaint, 30-year-old Noelia Martinez-Avila was intoxicated and driving on the wrong side of the interstate north of Madison when she crashed head-on into a vehicle carrying two teens from Minnesota in the Town of Vienna around midnight July 20. Paramedics declared 18-year-old Hallie Helgeson dead at the scene. The complaint states 19-year-old Brady Heiling was transported to a nearby hospital by helicopter. He died five days later.

A breath test administered at the scene of the crash showed Martinez-Avila had a blood alcohol level of .208, according to the complaint. It was her second OWI, and the vehicle she was driving did not have a court-ordered ignition interlock installed.

Court records show Martinez-Avila has been charged with two counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, operating a vehicle with a revoked driver’s license and failure to install an ignition interlock device.

Booking information from the Dane County Sheriff’s Office shows the department declined a detainer request from ICE on July 22, two days after the crash. ICE said Martinez-Avila is from Honduras and is the U.S. illegally.

A statement from ICE Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, issued July 27, said Helgeson and Heiling would still be alive if not for Martinez-Avila’s recklessness and referenced the ICE detainer request. 

“Unfortunately, this sanctuary jurisdiction has a history of not honoring ICE arrest detainers often leading to the release of murderers and other heinous criminals,” McLaughlin said. “Under Secretary (Kristi) Noem, these precious victims will not be forgotten, and we will fight for justice.”

In an emailed statement, Dane County Sheriff Barrett said the Department of Homeland Security “is aware of who is in our custody and when that person will be released.”

“In accordance with the U.S. Constitution, it is their responsibility to obtain and present an arrest warrant signed by a judge,” Barrett said. “A judicial warrant ensures they can lawfully take custody of the individual.”

Barrett said supporting crime victims is one of the department’s highest priorities, but the suspect should be “held accountable through our court system.” 

“Deporting someone before they face trial allows them to evade that accountability — it’s essentially a ‘get out of jail free’ card,” Barrett said.

A statement from the ACLU of Wisconsin, which is critical of state law enforcement agencies assisting the federal government with deportations, called the deadly crash a “heartbreaking tragedy” but accused ICE conflating “pro-immigrant policies with criminality” in an effort to “scapegoat immigrant communities and exploit individual tragedies.”

“It appears that ICE had not issued a detainer involving the Defendant prior to this accident, so claiming detainer policies had anything to do with this horrific accident is highly misleading,” the statement said. “ICE appears to want to deport the Defendant prior to her trial, depriving the victims of a chance at justice and the Defendant her day in court.”

A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told WPR Martinez-Avila is still in custody. Court records show a cash bond of $250,000 has been set. If Martinez-Avila posts bond, she’d be required to wear a GPS ankle monitor and submit to remote breath sampling. 

A status conference is scheduled for Sept. 22.