Police are searching for the people responsible for murdering a man over a catalytic converter in Inglewood. Karma Dickerson reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
A Salvadoran citizen accused of killing an Inglewood man while trying to steal a catalytic converter in February was in the United States illegally for the second time despite having been deported previously, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Jose Cristian Saravia-Sanchez is among 16 people who were charged by the Justice Department for allegedly illegally re-entering the country after being removed.
Saravia and another person were arrested on March 6 for the February shooting death of an Inglewood father, who interrupted the catalytic converter theft while heading to work early in February.
Saravia was taken into custody following an hours-long standoff with law enforcement at a Cudahy motel.
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Federal authorities said Saravia was first reported in 2013, but he returned to the country illegally again.
Saravia is in state custody, facing a murder charge.
People who are found in the U.S. after being reported could get up to two years in federal prison.
Punishment becomes more severe for those with criminal conviction as people who were deported after being convicted of a felony face a maximum 10-year sentence, and defendants removed after being convicted of an aggravated felony face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.
