What began as an exciting extramarital affair for Antonio Cardenas-Rico turned into a nightmare when he was falsely accused of stabbing to death two of his paramour's young sons in February.
And even though he was cleared of those slayings within two days of his arrest, Cardenas-Rico's troubles are far from over. He is scheduled to be deported to Mexico within 60 days, his immigration lawyer said Wednesday.
Cardenas-Rico, 27, remained in the Gwinnett County jail for three months after he was exonerated of the homicides on Feb. 12 because he had marijuana in the home where he was staying when he was arrested. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which partners with the county Sheriff's Office to identify all illegal immigrants booked into the jail as part of a federal program known as 287(g), also placed a hold on Cardenas-Rico upon determining he was in the country illegally.
Cardenas-Rico pleaded guilty May 6 to felony possession of marijuana and was sentenced to 10 years of probation. He was released from jail May 17.
Cardenas-Rico is married to an American woman and has two children. His family lived in Las Vegas, and he sought to remain in the country with them. An immigration judge, however, ordered Cardenas-Rico to be deported within 60 days, his immigration attorney, Noah Pines, said Wednesday.
Police say Elvis Garcia, the father of a 1-year-old and 3-year-old twins, stabbed the boys and then himself to make it appear that they had been attacked at their Lawrenceville home. Only one of the twins survived with critical injuries. Garcia then claimed that his wife's boyfriend did it. Cardenas-Rico, a professional mover, had been having an affair with the children's mother for about three months, he later admitted in a jailhouse interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Within two days, investigators determined Garcia was the culprit. Garcia is being held without bond at the Gwinnett jail on murder charges.
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