A Las Vegas mother is demanding that ICE return the suspect in her daughter’s fatal pedestrian-involved traffic accident in June 2025 after the federal agency deported the man to Guatemala in the middle of his legal proceedings.
Separately, that mother, Cheri Brown, only found out her daughter, 33-year-old Amber Brown, had died when she checked her cell phone tracking app and found it at the county coroner’s office.
The June 2025 traffic accident
On the afternoon of June 19, 2025, Amber Brown was allegedly struck by 37-year-old Angel Franco Merida’s vehicle while crossing Rancho Drive at Decatur Boulevard in a marked crosswalk, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officials told local outlet KLAS. Brown, a registered nurse, was rushed to a hospital with critical injuries and later died from those injuries.
Her mother, Cheri, spent hours frantically trying to reach her daughter after she didn’t come home that evening. Unable to reach Amber by phone, Cheri opened her cell-tracking app, which showed her daughter’s last known location: Amber’s phone “pinged” at the Clark County Coroner’s Office.
Merida was later located and arrested by police in connection with the crash. Officers charged him with reckless driving resulting in death, and a 14-year-old passenger in his vehicle was unharmed. Merida appeared before a Las Vegas judge, who set his bail at $50,000; he reportedly posted bond a few days later.
The ICE deportation
Instead of remaining in state custody, Merida was taken into federal immigration custody shortly after his release on bond. According to law enforcement and court filings, a U.S. immigration judge granted him voluntary departure, and he was deported to Guatemala in July 2025.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson later told local media that ICE transferred Merida out of Nevada without notifying his office, effectively bringing the state prosecution against him to a halt. Because Merida was removed from the United States, he failed to appear at subsequent hearings in Nevada, and local authorities issued a warrant for his arrest. But with Merida now in Guatemala, law enforcement here cannot take him into custody.
Under Nevada law, reckless driving resulting in death can carry a prison sentence if the suspect is convicted. But that opportunity has disappeared with his removal from the country, leaving the case in legal limbo.
Mother’s efforts to seek justice
As of January 2026, Cheri is speaking publicly about both the emotional devastation of losing her daughter and the frustrating way she learned the news, but also criticizing ICE’s handling of Merida’s case, arguing that deporting him robbed her family of justice and accountability.
She has called on federal officials to bring Merida back so he can face the charges related to Amber’s death. Legal experts note that extradition from Guatemala — particularly after an immigration judge granted voluntary departure — can be complex. However, Brown and her supporters maintain that renewed cooperation between federal and local authorities is necessary to ensure Merida is held accountable.
