KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — UPDATE (Sept. 5): A man accused in a pickax attack that hospitalized another man in West Knoxville on Sunday is also being placed on an ICE hold for entering the U.S. illegally, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed on Thursday.
WBIR 10News reached out to representatives with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Monday morning after learning the suspect in the case, 26-year-old Jeinson Hernandez-Moran, had an ICE hold on his arrest record.
10News does not report ICE holds based solely on local arrest reports until we can verify that person's immigration status with DHS. The department replied on Monday saying the request would be delayed due to the federal holiday, so we followed up with DHS on Tuesday and later received a formal statement on Thursday.
According to DHS, Hernandez-Moran is a Guatemalan citizen who illegally entered the U.S. on an unknown date.
Immigration officers in New Orleans filed an immigration detainer with the Knoxville Police Department after his arrest in order to ensure he would be transferred into federal custody before being released from jail.
When immigration officers issue an ICE hold, local law enforcement are asked to keep suspects in jail for no more than 48 hours beyond the time they would normally be released in order to give immigration officers time to take them into custody.
Court records show Hernandez-Moran does not have a bond set, meaning he has not been released from KPD custody. He is scheduled to appear in Knox County Criminal Court for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 18 at 8:30 a.m.
"Detainers increase the safety of all parties involved – ERO personnel, law enforcement officials, the removable noncitizens, and the public – by allowing an arrest to be made in a secure and controlled custodial setting as opposed to at-large within the community," DHS said.
Hernandez-Moran later turned himself in and was charged with attempted second-degree murder on Monday. KPD said the victim and suspect knew each other.
The Knoxville Police Department said the victim was still in the hospital and reportedly stable as of Thursday.
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UPDATE (Sept. 2): A man is in custody and charged with attempted murder after officers said he attacked a man with a pickax in West Knoxville.
According to the Knoxville Police Department, Jeinson Hernandez-Moran, 26, has been charged with attempted second-degree murder after the attack at a home in the 1000 block of Morrell Road on Saturday morning.
KPD said a witness woke up around 10:45 a.m. and saw Hernandez-Moran hitting the victim several times in the head with a pickax. The witness said the man ran, and officers arrived to find the victim in bed with the pickax embedded in his skull.
The victim was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center with serious injuries.
Officers said Hernandez-Moran later turned himself in.
KPD said the victim and suspect knew each other.
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Original Story:
One man is in critical condition after an assault earlier today at a home in the 1000 block of Morrell Road, according to Knoxville Police Department (KPD).
KPD said the assault did not seem random and that the victim and suspect knew each other before the attack.
Police also said they had located the suspect and taken him in for questioning.
The victim was taken to UT Medical Center afterward, where he remains in critical condition.
The investigation is ongoing.