Connecticut
Ecuadorian national with manslaughter conviction sentenced for illegally reentering United States through Connecticut
NEW HAVEN, CT. (WFSB) – An Ecuadorian national with a manslaughter conviction was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for illegally reentering the United States through Connecticut after being deported.
40-year-old Darwin Francisco Quituizaca-Duchitanga was sentenced and had used the aliases Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca and Juan Mendez-Gutierrez.
U.S. Border Patrol first encountered Quituizaca in December 2003, when he used the alias Juan Mendez-Gutierrez and claimed to be a Mexican citizen. He was issued a voluntary return to Mexico.
Connecticut State Police arrested him in March 2018 on charges related to a fatal crash on I-91 in North Haven in March 2017. He was using the alias Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca at the time.
ICE arrested him on an administrative warrant in Meriden in August 2018 while he was awaiting trial in his state case. An immigration judge ordered his removal to Ecuador in September 2018, but he was transferred to state custody to face pending charges.
Quituizaca was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in January 2019 and sentenced to 30 months in prison.
After his release, ICE arrested him again on an administrative warrant in Meriden in August 2023. He was removed to Ecuador the next month.
ICE arrested Quituizaca again on a warrant in Meriden on June 28th, 2025, after he illegally reentered the United States. He pleaded guilty to unlawful reentry on July 30th.
He has been detained since his arrest. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated the case.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations.
Copyright 2026 WFSB. All rights reserved.
Connecticut
State parks filling up and some are closing
CONNECTICUT (WTNH) – Some state parks have closed after their parking lots have reached capacity.
According to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection parking lots at 3 state parks have reached their limit today and are closed to anymore guests.
As of this time the parks are:
-Silver Sands in Milford
-Wadsworth Falls in Middletown
-Squantz Pond in New Fairfield
We will update this list if anymore closures are reported today.
Connecticut
Lenora R. Casserino Obituary
Connecticut
2 rescued, fisherman still missing after getting trapped in rising water at Connecticut beach
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a beach rescue in Santa Cruz County, California. Authorities said about eight rescue swimmers entered the water to extricate the victims.
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Two people, including a fisherman, have been rescued, and crews are looking to locate another that was trapped on a reef when water started to rise at a Connecticut beach.
The Fairfield Fire Department responded to a call for help after getting a report that two fishermen were in distress off the reef at Penfield Beach. It happened around 7 a.m. on Saturday.
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Investigators said that while the two fishermen were on a reef, the incoming tide quickly surrounded them, leaving them trapped, with the water still rising and no safe way back to shore.
A lifeguard station on Penfield Beach in Fairfield, CT.
(DeviantCharisma / Getty Images)
A witness saw what happened and jumped into the water to help. While they were able to find one of the fishermen, both were subsequently swept into deeper water, according to the fire department.
Police and fire officials dispatched multiple marine assets to the area, and the Fairfield Police Boat was able to rescue the witness and one fisherman.
Search efforts to find the second fisherman have been suspended for the night, but are expected to pick up on Sunday morning.
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Drone units from Fairfield and nearby Westport assisted in search operations. Helicopters from the U.S. Coast Guard and Nassau County, New York, also responded.
Dive teams from several neighboring cities and towns responded to the scene to assist with the search, too.
A peaceful evening at Fairfield Beach, Connecticut, with a lifeguard chair standing empty on the sandy shore. The serene waters of Long Island Sound reflect the soft pastel hues of the setting sun, while a near-full moon rises into the clear sky. The quiet beach scene, with coastal homes in the distance, captures the calm and tranquility of a New England beach town at dusk.
(Roshan Polepalli / Getty Images)
The rescued fisherman was transported to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, due in large part to the heroic actions of the witness, according to fire officials.
Despite an extensive search involving local, state and federal resources, the second fisherman has not been located, the fire department said.
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The operation has transitioned from a search and rescue mission to a recovery effort, and officials said efforts to locate the man, identified as 34-year-old Kwahiwi Edwards, of Queens, New York, will continue.
Various jingle seashells on Sasco Beach in Fairfield, Connecticut, on a sunny day.
(Daniel Hanscom / Getty Images)
“The Fairfield Police Department and Fairfield Fire Department extend their thoughts and support to the family and loved ones of the missing fisherman as search and recovery efforts continue,” the fire department said on Facebook.
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Officials are also thanking the witness that jumped in and whose quick actions helped save a life.
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