Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - An illegal immigrant from Mexico was arrested after deputies with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office say he struck a vehicle and took off after pleading with the victim not to call police.
The backstory:
According to PCSO, the victim flagged down two deputies on Rifle Range Road around 4:40 p.m. on Tuesday and told them that she had just been rear-ended by a burgundy Nissan Frontier truck.
She told deputies that the man who hit her and his female passenger pleaded with her not to call law enforcement.
The victim told deputies that the suspect and passenger got back in their truck and took off when she said she was calling 911.
Deputies said the victim provided them with the suspect’s vehicle tag number, and they went to the registered address on Ridgeview East in Winter Haven, where they spotted the truck parked in the backyard under a tarp.
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When deputies went to the suspect’s home, they said they met Jose Obregon Salgado at the door and he immediately tried to retreat inside.
He was taken into custody and positively identified by the victim.
Salgado is charged with:
- Tampering with evidence
- Resisting arrest
- Leaving the scene of a crash
- No valid driver's license
All of those charges are enhanced by one degree because of Salgado’s illegal status and an ICE detainer has been placed on him in the Polk County Jail.
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According to PCSO, Salgado was also arrested in 2024 for not having a valid driver's license.
What they're saying:
"If this suspect had just remained at the scene, he would have been arrested and charged with no valid DL, and given a traffic citation for the crash," explained Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "Now he's facing two felonies and other serious charges because he chose to run, attempted to hide the evidence, and resisted law enforcement."
The Source: This article was written with information found in a press release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.