An illegal alien accused of causing back-to-back crashes and killing a Minneapolis mother while driving drunk last year has been arrested—after being free for nine months due to sanctuary city policies.
German Adriano Llangari Inga, 35, faces three counts of criminal vehicular homicide and two counts of criminal vehicular operation. The fatal crash occurred around 10:40 p.m. on Aug. 3, 2024, in north Minneapolis, and killed Victoria Eileen Harwell, 31, of Minneapolis, KSTP-TV 5 News reports.
Hennepin County officials finally charged Llangari Inga on May 2 in Hennepin County District Court, but Llangari Inga could not be located. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was taken into custody eight days later by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and jailed Saturday, May 10, The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
The Sheriff’s Office has not disclosed how it found Llangari Inga, who is being held in lieu of $150,000 bail ahead of a court hearing.
In a statement to Alpha News, ICE confirmed that Llangari Inga, of Ecuador, was illegally present in the United States. ICE also said that it placed a detainer on Llangari Inga the day after the crash occurred, Aug. 4.
BREAKING: German Adriano Llangari Inga, an illegal alien accused of killing a Minneapolis mother while driving drunk last year, has been arrested. Currently being held in Hennepin County Jail. pic.twitter.com/tZZ8NhrUoW
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) May 10, 2025
The detainer wasn’t honored and he was released without notification, Alpha News reports.
“The Hennepin County Jail did not honor the detainer and released Llangari without notification to ICE Aug. 6, 2024,” said an ICE spokesperson. “Llangari initially entered the United States in June 2016, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, issued an order of expedited removal and placed into removal proceedings.”
Criminal charges were filed last week, alleging Llangari Inga was driving through Minneapolis on the night of Aug. 3, 2024, when he crossed a double yellow line and crashed head-on into another vehicle.
Along with being drunk, charging documents state Llangari Inga did not have a valid driver’s license or insurance at the time of the accident.
Llangari Inga was driving a Dodge Journey east on Lowry Avenue North when he crossed over the center line near James Avenue and hit a Dodge Durango head-on, according to a criminal complaint. A witness told police the Journey was driving fast.
The crash killed Harwell, the driver of the Durango, and injured two others; Harwell’s sister and Harwell’s 14-year-old daughter. Harwell died at North Memorial Health from her injuries. The other two passengers were treated and released.
At the scene, officers found three open beer bottles in the car — two in the center console and one on the floor. According to the complaint, Llangari Inga said he had stopped drinking at 11 p.m., 20 minutes after the crash happened, according to KSTP-TV 5 News.
The criminal charges say officers could smell “a strong odor of alcohol” coming from his breath. The criminal complaint further notes that Llangari Inga’s eyes appeared “glazed over and watery.”
Llangari Inga’s preliminary breath test showed a blood-alcohol content of 0.172, and a blood draw later in the night registered at 0.141.
Alpha News contacted the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), the agency responsible for the county jail, about why Llangari Inga was released.
“As per guidance from the MN Attorney General’s Office, HCSO cannot lawfully hold individuals in custody based solely on an administrative detainer issued by the Department of Homeland Security or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” SCSO said in a statement. “If a judicially-signed warrant is presented to HCSO, ICE will be notified when it becomes the holding agency. In the absence of such a warrant, individuals must be released once all criminal charges or holds have been resolved.”
Alpha News also contacted Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and asked why the county attorney’s office took so long to charge Llangari Inga. The agency did not respond.
The Trump administration also blasted the Twin Cities “sanctuary” policies and for ignoring the ICE order to keep the Ecuadorean national in a Twin Cities jail, The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
White House spokesman Alexander Pfeiffer said in a statement, “An illegal immigrant drove drunk, killed an innocent mother, and was on the run because Democrats didn’t do their most important job: protect their constituents.”
Pfeiffer also said that “this is precisely why the Trump administration is taking action to hold these so-called sanctuary jurisdictions accountable.”
Police also believe Llangari Inga was involved in a hit-and-run crash seven blocks away, at the intersection of Penn and 34th avenues, before the head-on crash, according to KSTP-TV 5 News.
According to surveillance video, the same Dodge Journey rear-ended a Honda CRV that was waiting at a red light to turn. The impact forced the Honda CRV to cross the intersection and go onto the sidewalk. The driver of the Journey drove off.
