The suspect in the death of a Johnson County Sheriff’s deputy made his first court appearance Tuesday.
Adrian Espinosa-Flores appeared via a video conference camera from the Johnson County Detention Center in New Century, Kansas, to a judge in the Johnson County Courthouse in Olathe, Kansas.
Espinosa-Flores did not speak English during the preceding, and an interpreter translated between the judge and him.
Prosecutors have charged Espinosa-Flores with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Johnson County Sheriff’s Master Deputy Brandon Collins who was killed Sunday morning on 69 Highway near 143rd St.
Prosecutors believe Espinosa-Flores was driving drunk when he hit Collins.
Espinosa-Flores has a previous history of driving under the influence.
In 2001, he was arrested in Pomona, California for DUI. He was convicted under a different name, Arturo Espinoza Mercado, in Los Angeles County Criminal Court that same year.
In 2013, Overland Park police pulled over Espinosa-Flores for speeding.
He was also charged with driving without a license and was arrested because he had no valid form of identification.
Espinosa-Flores posted $300 bond and later pled guilty in Overland Park Municipal Court to driving without a license.
He was fined $121 and the case was closed.
The 41 Action News Investigators have confirmed Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is checking Espinosa-Flores’s immigration status.
An ICE spokesperson sent 41 Action News the following statement:
“On Sept. 12, ICE placed a detainer on Adrian Espinosa-Flores with the Johnson County (Kansas) jail following his recent arrest on local charges. ICE records do not show a prior immigration encounter with Mr. Espinosa-Flores, or that ICE was notified following his previous encounters with local law enforcement in California in 2001, and again in Kansas in 2013. Based on initial criminal records checks, Mr. Espinosa-Flores is an ICE enforcement priority due to a prior DUI conviction in California from 2001. Mr. Espinosa-Flores is still in local custody."
During the video conference appearance Tuesday, Espinosa-Flores asked the judge if he qualified for a public defender.
The judge set his bond at $2 million. His next court appearance will be Sept. 22 at 11:30 a.m.
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Cynthia Newsome can be reached at Cynthia.Newsome@kshb.com.
