Mexican citizen gets 20 years for Nashville restaurant owner murder
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is seeking custody of a Mexican national who authorities say entered the United States illegally through Texas in 2021 under the Biden administration and killed a restaurant owner in Nashville.
After he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to decades in prison on Tuesday, ICE filed an immigration detainer against Ulises Raigoza-Martinez, requesting that Tennessee authorities notify the agency before his release so federal authorities could detain him for deportation proceedings, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The case stems from an encounter that occurred on June 19, 2024, in the parking lot of Nashville restaurant Smokin’ Thighs. Investigators allege Raigoza-Martinez stopped to steal tools from owner Matt Carney’s pickup truck.
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Matt Carney, owner of Smokin’ Thighs restaurant in Nashville, died July 4, 2024, after authorities say he was struck by a vehicle while confronting a man accused of stealing tools from his pickup truck. (DHS)
When Carney, 42, went out to confront the thief, Raigoza-Martinez sped away and hit the restaurateur with his vehicle, authorities said. When Raigoza-Martinez turned the vehicle, Carney fell on the hood and was thrown onto the pavement.
Carney was seriously injured and died in a hospital in Nashville on July 4, 2024.
Police arrested Raigoza-Martinez on July 18, 2024, in South Nashville. Two years later, on July 22, 2026, Raigoza-Martinez pleaded guilty to murder, theft over $10,000, tampering with evidence, and theft over $2,500 before being sentenced to 20 years in prison.
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Ulises Raigoza-Martinez pleaded guilty to murder, theft of more than $10,000, tampering with evidence and theft of more than $2,500 in the death of Nashville restaurant owner Matt Carney. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. (DHS)
DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said Raigoza-Martinez “should NEVER have been in our country to commit this heinous murder.”
“We will work with our state and local partners in Tennessee to ensure that he is released into ICE custody once his sentence is completed so that we can remove him from our country,” Bis said.
FILE – ICE seeks custody of suspect after serving prison sentence for murder. (Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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If Tennessee authorities honor the ICE detainee, federal immigration authorities will ensure Raigoza-Martinez is detained after he completes his prison sentence so he can be placed in deportation proceedings and deported.
