Ecuadorian National Deported after Manslaughter Conviction Charged with Illegally Reentering U.S.

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that DARWIN FRANCISCO QUITUIZACA-DUCHITANGA, also known as Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca and Juan Mendez-Gutierrez, 39, a citizen of Ecuador, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with illegally reentering the United States after being deported.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, in December 2003, Quituizaca, using an alias of Juan Mendez-Gutierrez, was encountered by U.S. Border Patrol.  He was issued a voluntary return to Mexico after he claimed to be a citizen of Mexico.

It is further alleged that in March 2018, the Connecticut State Police arrested and charged Quituizaca, under the alias Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca, with charges related to a fatal motor vehicle accident on I-91 in North Haven in March 2017.  On August 30, 2018, ICE encountered Quituizaca in Meriden and arrested him on an administrative warrant while he was at liberty awaiting trial in his state case.  In September 2018, an immigration judge ordered Quituizaca removed from the U.S. to Ecuador, but he was subsequently transferred to state custody to face his pending charges.  In January 2019, Quituizaca was convicted in Connecticut Superior Court of manslaughter second degree and sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment.  He was subsequently released from state prison on an unknown date.  On August 15, 2023, ICE encountered and arrested Quituizaca on an administrative warrant of removal in Meriden.  He was removed to Ecuador in September 2023.

It is further alleged that Quituizaca illegally reentered the U.S.  On June 28, 2025, ICE arrested Quituizaca on an administrative warrant in Meriden.

Quituizaca, who has been detained since his arrest, appeared today in Hartford federal court.  If convicted of the charge of unlawful reentry, he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel George

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.  Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).