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Man accused of killing Marion County deputy released from Mexican prison due to error


Left: Deputy Kelly Fredinburg. Right: 2007 photo of Alfredo De Jesus Ascencio. (Photos provided by the Marion County Sheriff's Office).
Left: Deputy Kelly Fredinburg. Right: 2007 photo of Alfredo De Jesus Ascencio. (Photos provided by the Marion County Sheriff's Office).
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SALEM, Ore. – The man accused of killing a Marion County deputy and another man was released from a Mexican federal prison due to an administrative error in February.

Alfredo De Jesus Ascencio was arrested in January after a 10-year manhunt that spanned between the U.S. and Mexico.

According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Kelly Fredinburg was on the way to an emergency call on Highway 99E north of Gervais when his patrol car was struck head-on by Ascencio on June 16, 2007.

The patrol car caught fire and Fredinburg was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ascencio, who was 20 years old at the time of the crash, was treated for critical injuries at a Portland-area hospital. The Sheriff's Office says he had two passengers in the car with him during the crash, one of whom died the next day.

He was identified as 19-year-old Oscar Ascencio Amaya.

Oregon State Police investigated the crash and received an indictment on Aug. 3, 2007 for two counts of criminally negligent homicide on Ascencio. The Sheriff's Office says it was then learned that he had fled the US to Mexico to avoid prosecution.

At first, authorities say there was no chance of him being returned to the US due to the limitations in the extradition treaty. In 2010 Oregon prosecutors sought an Article 4 prosecution which allows certain crimes committed in the US to be prosecuted by the Mexican judicial system.

In 2010, OSP investigators traveled to Mexico and filed the Article 4 paperwork and presented officials with all police reports translated into Spanish. The Marion County Sheriff's Office says the case went to a Mexican federal judge for review.

In 2011, OSP learned that the judge had approved the paperwork and a warrant was issue for Ascencio's arrest. Since that time, OSP, the Marion County District Attorney's Office, the Marion County Sheriff's Office and FBI have collaborated in efforts in locating him.

He was arrested on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017.

However, he was released approximately a month later.

After learning De Jesus Ascencio was released, the Oregon State Police and the Marion County District Attorney's Office have been working jointly with the FBI, the U.S. Embassy, Interpol, and the Mexican Attorney General's Office to locate him.

The information of his release was not made public until August 25 due to ongoing attempts to locate him.

"It's important for the community to know that we will not let up despite the passage of time. We remain fully committed to seeking justice for the victims and their families,” said Marion County District Attorney Walt Beglau.

The warrant for De Jesus Ascencio’s arrest is still active.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact 1-800-452-7888. For bilingual call takers call 1-503-823-4357 and refer to case #07-28.

Residents within Mexico can call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line, refer to case #07-28, (bilingual call takers) at +011-503-823-4357.

A reward of up to $20,000 is being offered for information that leads to De Jesus Ascencio’s arrest.

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