A previously-deported illegal alien from Honduras has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison for killing a Florida sheriff’s deputy and then fleeing the scene while working on a highway construction crew, according to reports.
The horrifying incident unfolded in Pinellas County on Sept. 22, 2022.
Deputy Michael Hartwick, 51, of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), was working off-duty that night, helping direct traffic at a construction site on I-275 when he was run over by a front-end loader.
Juan Ariel Molina-Salles, 32, was driving the 30,000-pound machine at approximately 20 mph when he struck Deputy Hartwick, killing him almost instantly, investigators say.
Molina-Salles reportedly continued onward for some time, only stopping briefly to speak on the phone with co-worker to discuss what had just happened.
The killer linked up with another co-worker, Elieser Aureilio Gomez-Zelaya, who took Molina-Salles’ vest and hard hat and hid them as the Honduran fled into the woods.
Molina-Salles was apprehended the next morning following an overnight manhunt.
He initially gave authorities a false identity, claiming he was 35-year-old Victor Vazquez-Real.
Gomez-Zelaya was also arrested and hit with a felony charge of accessory after the fact.
Both men are illegal aliens from Honduras who were working under false identities for Archer Western-de Moya Group Joint Venture, which had contracted with the Florida Department of Transportation.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gulatieri said other workers also lied and provided fake names during questioning.
“This company is employing a bunch of illegals and they are all out there lying and giving us fake names, fake IDs, a lot of fake IDs out of North Carolina that really frustrated this investigation,” he explained at the time.
“He didn’t have a driver’s license. He’s got nothing. He shouldn’t have been here to begin with and he shouldn’t have been driving. He shouldn’t have been working… He has no qualifications to drive a front loader,” Sheriff Gulatieri said of Molina-Salles.
Molina-Salles was caught by U.S. Border Patrol in October of 2021 after illegally crossing into Eagle Pass, TX.
He was returned to Mexico but later reentered the U.S. as an unknown gotaway before making his way to Florida.
On Tuesday, Molina-Salles was sentenced to 12 years in prison and will be deported after he is released.
JUST IN: Illegal Alien from Honduras responsible for killing a Pinellas County Police Officer in a hit-and-run is sentenced to just 12 years in prison of the 20 years prosecutors demanded.
— Dapper Detective (@Dapper_Det) March 5, 2025
Juan Molina-Salles entered the country illegally in October of 2021 in Eagle Pass, Texas. pic.twitter.com/7lYNnEbBoA
Deputy Hartwick, a 19-year law enforcement veteran, was survived by his mother and two sons.
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