LOS ANGELES (AP) — Officials say a man accused of attacking his wife with a chain saw in front of their children at their Los Angeles-area home had been deported from the U.S. 11 times.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lori Haley says 32-year-old Alejandro Alvarez-Villegas is a “serial immigration violator.”
Alvarez-Villegas was arrested on Thursday in a stolen vehicle in Chula Vista, a few miles from the Mexican border.
Police said Alvarez-Villegas is suspected of attacking his wife at their Whittier home, leaving her covered in blood. She is expected to recover.
It was not immediately clear if Alvarez-Villegas had an attorney to comment on the allegations.
Haley says federal immigration officials have lodged a detainer against Alvarez-Villegas, asking local officials to notify them before he is released.
Alvarez-Villegas has been in and out of the U.S. since 2005.