ICE arrested a Honduran man who was in the country illegally after a Nashville judge gave him probation, not prison, for shooting a man in the face.
Story Highlights
- ICE announced on Tuesday, October 27, that it had arrested Aldo David Herrera-Andino, 22, of Honduras.
- He pleaded guilty in the shooting and got five years of probation in September, according to reports.
- ICE says he crossed the border illegally in March 2021 and was released after Border Patrol caught him.
- He is in ICE custody, and the agency plans to deport him.
Guilty Plea Confirms the Shooting
Herrera-Andino shot a man in the face during a fight at a home on Preserve Circle in Nashville, then fled with help from another person, according to reports. The victim was taken to Vanderbilt Medical Center in critical condition. Detectives found Herrera-Andino through witnesses, and he later admitted firing the gun. He pleaded guilty to what ICE called felony reckless aggravated assault. In Tennessee, that is a lower-level felony for causing serious injury through reckless action rather than on purpose.
ICE spokesman Micah Bock described the attack in blunt terms. “Herrera-Andino shot a man in the face, left him fighting for his life, and fled the scene,” Bock said. “He later admitted to the shooting and pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault.” This was not a case that fell apart in court. The defendant admitted the shooting himself.
Five Years of Probation for a Face-Wound Shooting
A Davidson County judge sentenced Herrera-Andino to five years of probation in September. No prison time. He walked out of court. Reports named the judge as Cindy Chappell of Davidson County Criminal Court, a Democrat elected in 2022 who spent nearly 30 years as a criminal defense and family lawyer. No public comment from the judge, prosecutors or his defense lawyer has been reported, and the court has not released a reason for the probation.
Tennessee probation is not nothing. A judge can revoke it and send a person to prison if he breaks the rules, and it comes with real conditions. But for many readers, five years of check-ins does not match the harm of shooting a man in the face. That gap between the crime and the sentence is why this case drew national attention.
ICE Steps In After State Court Lets Him Go
ICE agents took Herrera-Andino into custody in October, the month after his sentence. “Violent offenders like Herrera-Andino have no business remaining in our communities,” Bock said. “ICE will continue holding them accountable and removing those who threaten Americans.” Scott Ladwig of Enforcement and Removal Operations, the ICE branch that finds and deports people, added, “ICE is committed to protecting communities by arresting and removing illegal aliens who commit serious crimes.”
The case shows two systems working on two tracks. The state court handled the shooting and chose probation. The federal government handled his immigration status and moved to deport him. For many conservative voters, the lesson is plain: it took a federal agency stepping in after the fact to keep a man who shot someone in the face out of American neighborhoods.
Border Crossing and Release Come Full Circle
Herrera-Andino crossed the southern border illegally in March 2021, and Border Patrol agents arrested him, according to ICE. He was then released into the country under the Biden administration’s border policies. Critics call that approach “catch and release,” meaning people caught crossing are let go into the country while their cases wait in court.
Years later, that same man stands convicted of shooting a man in the face. For families who have warned about loose border enforcement, this case reads like a direct example of what they predicted. President Trump’s administration has made removing violent illegal aliens a priority, and this arrest shows that push at work.
Sources:
thegatewaypundit.com, breitbart.com