Polk County Sheriff’s Office Press Release
A minor traffic crash occurred at around 8:38 pm, on Sunday, November 23rd, on US 98 South at East Ethelene Street in Bartow (near Ruby Tuesday’s).
Fortunately, there were no injuries…not that one of the drivers seemed to care; 37-year old Francisco Marin-Matildes of Mexico immediately fled the scene in his 2007 Ford Edge following the crash.
As luck would have it, the crash occurred right in front of a PCSO deputy.
The deputy conducted a traffic stop on Francisco’s Ford.
That is when the deputy discovered that Francisco had no driver’s license, and he was in the United States illegally.
Francisco Marin-Matildes was arrested and taken to the Sheriff’s Processing Center. He was charged with Driving without a Valid Driver’s License and Leaving the Scene of a Traffic Crash without Injuries.
Due to Francisco’s illegal alien status, both of his charges were enhanced one degree, so both 2nd degree misdemeanor charges were elevated to 1st degree misdemeanors.
An ICE HOLD was placed on Francisco.
