Illegal Immigrant Accused in Triple Murder Was Deported Three Times

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Joaquin Escoto, 28 a Mexican national born in Jalisco, was deported from the U.S. three times and arrested for driving under the influence once before he was arrested again in June for another DUI, a senior law enforcement official told The Post.

On the day of Escoto’s DUI arrest in June, which occurred in San Joaquin County, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials requested to be notified of the Modesto resident’s release from jail so they could deport him again, according to the official.

But San Joaquin law enforcement officials hogtied by California’s contested sanctuary law — which limits how state and local law enforcement communicates with federal law enforcement — failed to notify the feds, and Escoto was set free, the official said.

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Now, less than one year after that request from ICE agents was ignored, Escoto is being held without bail on three counts of murder in the grisly knife slaying in Modesto of an infant and two women, including one with whom he allegedly had a child, according to police.

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Modesto Police Department officers discovered evidence of Escoto’s alleged crime Thursday morning around 9:20 a.m. after they responded to a home near Monterey and Thrasher avenues following a 911 call reporting a domestic disturbance.

When officers arrived at the home, they discovered 23-year-old Fabiola Gonzalez with multiple stab wounds who was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Officers continued to search the home and found a second woman, 54-year-old Silvia Nuñez, and Mateo Gonzalez, an infant, both with stab wounds.

Nuñez was pronounced dead at the scene, while the infant died at the hospital, according to police.

An additional child, approximately 4 years old, was found inside the home and taken to the hospital for treatment, police said.

After information gathered at the scene led investigators to believe that the killer remained in the area, officers established a perimeter around the house where the victims were found, and called in a SWAT and hostage negotiators.

Escoto was later found hiding inside a nearby house, and video posted on the Stockton Chronicle TikTok page showed him being taken into custody without incident.

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Investigators believe Escoto shared a child with one of the victims. Police would not say which of the victims was believed to have had a child with Escoto. They also would not say if either of the children found in the house were believed to be his.

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