ALBANY — The Colombian man who, along with his wife and young daughter, was “adopted” by the members of a Colonie church before his deportation last month had been facing a felony charge well beyond the purported traffic violation his advocates said federal immigration officials cited as the reason for his removal from the country.
According to a narrative provided by the New York State Police, Harold Isaac Gutierrez-Barranco was arrested on Sept. 1, 2025, for aggravated driving while intoxicated. A trooper was completing an arrest in another case around 2 a.m. when he spotted “a 2011 Chevrolet Equinox driven by Gutierrez-Barranco driving westbound on Clinton Avenue in violation of the vehicle and traffic law. Gutierrez-Barranco pulled over on North Lake Avenue. Gutierrez-Barranco failed standard field sobriety tests and was arrested.”
Troopers said a breath test revealed a blood-alcohol level of 0.14, nearly double the legal limit. A 2-year-old was also in the SUV, troopers said…