Illegal Immigrant Convict Accused Of Gunning Down Elderly Veteran

An illegal immigrant with a rap sheet is accused of murdering an elderly veteran outside his Utah home.

Army and Air Force veteran James Randell “Randy” Witten, 71, was hanging up decorations on his porch in Davis County, Utah, in May when Axel Eduardo Chavez-Marroquin, 24, allegedly drove up and fatally shot him from behind, according to local news outlet KSL.

The accused “leapt out of the front passenger seat and moved towards James, firing approximately 10 rounds and killing James from behind,” KSL reported, citing charging documents. Chavez-Marroquin then returned to his car and sped away.

Police received reports of a car with something orange covering its license plate driving “erratically” nearby shortly after the shooting, the local outlet reported. One witness reported seeing a passenger tossing donuts, a beanie, a bandana, and gloves out of the vehicle.

DHS

Surveillance footage showed a passenger exiting the vehicle and ripping off the orange tape concealing the license plate before the car headed into Las Vegas hours after the shooting, according to KSL.

Authorities in Nevada located the vehicle on June 16 with Chavez-Marroquin inside and arrested the illegal immigrant. He was transferred to the Davis County Jail in Utah on June 29.

Chavez-Marroquin, who hails from El Salvador, crossed the California border illegally in 2021 before the Biden administration released him into the country, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The illegal immigrant received a conviction for domestic violence in Santa Ana, California, in 2024, DHS said. Authorities also arrested him for domestic violence in Laguna Niguel, California, in 2025.

In both cases, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged detainers with authorities in California, who released him from custody under local sanctuary policies, according to DHS.

Chavez-Marroquin arrived in West Point, Utah, from Nevada just eight hours before the shooting and left immediately after carrying out the attack, authorities said.

ICE has lodged a detainer seeking Chavez-Marroquin’s arrest for the third time following his latest crime, the agency said Monday.

In his latest case, prosecutors have argued that he’s a flight risk given his ties to El Salvador and his status as a fugitive from California, where he was on probation, according to KSL.

“This monster is charged with murdering a 71-year-old Army and Air Force veteran in Utah. California sanctuary politicians RELEASED this criminal from jail TWICE after arrests for domestic violence. Following his release, he went on to commit this heinous murder,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.

“This illegal alien should’ve never been allowed on our streets, and James Witten should still be alive today. ICE is now asking officials in Utah to commit to not releasing this criminal from jail and to work with ICE so that we can remove him from our country. Reckless sanctuary policies in states like California are putting American lives at risk,” Bis added.

The suspect is charged with murder with a dangerous weapons enhancement, discharge of a firearm causing serious injury, obstruction of justice, and dangerous weapon conduct by a restricted person, according to KSL.