Man charged in deadly Durham hit-and-run was in country illegally

The man charged in a deadly hit-and-run last month in Durham was in the country illegally, according to ICE. In a recent court appearance at the Durham County Courthouse, a prosecutor said he had been deported twice before.

Richard Ferguson, Jr. was killed on Sept. 13 on Chalk Level Road, when Durham police say a vehicle ran off the road, hit two signs, and then hit Ferguson. Police later arrested 30-year-old Wilmer Fuentes Mejia and charged him with hit and run, involuntary manslaughter, and driving with a revoked license. 

WRAL Investigates spoke with Ferguson's family, who described him as a dedicated brother to his 11 siblings, and a hard worker. Ferguson, 61, was in his 26th year working for the Durham Housing Authority in the maintenance division, and, according to his family, he also worked a second job at Dollar General. They say he was coming home from that job, and has just gotten off of the City bus, when he was hit.

"My brother was just, he loved everyone," Ferguson's sister, Crystal Russell, told WRAL. "He loved his family very much."

Reginald Ferguson described his late brother as his best friend and spiritual advisor.

"There was a time twenty some-odd years ago where I was going through some rough things, a drug addiction, and my brother helped see me through that," he said, in tears. "Never once gave up on me, one time...He didn’t deserve to get killed and leave this earth."

WRAL was the only media in court earlier this month when Mejia went before a judge. It was there a prosecutor explained he had been deported from the country twice before. WRAL asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement for information on why he was deported and when, and has not yet gotten answers to those questions, though ICE did confirm Mejia is in the country illegally. 

In court, a public defender said Mejia is a father of three young children, including a two-month-old.

WRAL Investigates found, in court records, that Mejia had been charged with DWI in Wake County in 2020. Court documents indicate he was released without being given a bond, and then that he did not show up for court. An order for his arrest was issued, but was not served until he was arrested for the Durham incident.

"If he had never got out on bond, my brother would be alive today," Reginald Ferguson said. 

WRAL reached out to Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman to ask if it is standard for people charged with DWI to not be given a bond. She replied: "It has not been unusual for defendants to receive a written promise to appear and be released to a sober adult if they have no history of prior offenses and no history of missing court which appears to have been the situation here.   NCGS 15A-534.2 provides a right to pretrial release in driving while impaired cases where an individual is either no longer impaired or a sober adult is willing to take custody."

Hearing Mejia's background, a Durham judge set his bond at $5,000,000. Three of Ferguson's siblings were in court, and showed visible signs of relief upon hearing that amount. After court, they expressed their satisfaction with the judge's decision.

"Praise God, hallelujah, thank you Jesus," Ferguson's sister Allie Williams said.

"Our brother worked since he was 14 and never has he been able to even enjoy a vacation with his own retirement," added sister Ramonica Cannon. "We need to stop this from happening to another family."