Attorneys for a Guatemalan man living illegally in the U.S have ended their effort to have his confession thrown out in a suspected drunken-driving crash that killed Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and his Uber driver.

Attorney John Tompkins told Marion County Judge Grant Hawkins during a Tuesday pre-trial hearing for Manuel Orrego-Savala that he had withdrawn a motion to suppress his client's statements to a state trooper after the Feb. 4 crash in Indianapolis.

Investigators said in a probable cause affidavit that Orrego-Savala admitted to the trooper that he was driving the pickup truck involved in the crash.

His attorneys had argued in a motion filed Feb. 20 that Orrego-Savala's admission shouldn't be allowed because he wasn't first read his rights.

Orrego-Savala Authentic Kareem Martin Jersey , 37, faces four felony charges in the crash that killed Jackson, 26, and his Uber driver, Jeffrey Monroe, 54, as the two men stood outside Monroe's car along Interstate 70 in Indianapolis. Investigators said Monroe was transporting Jackson for the ride-sharing service Youth Kalen Ballage Jersey , and had pulled over after the football player became ill.

Orrego-Savala had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent, which is more than twice Indiana's legal limit of .08 percent, according to court documents. He remains jailed and a not guilty plea has been entered on his behalf.

Orrego-Savala was deported from the U.S. in 2007 and 2009 and was back in the country illegally at the time of the crash, authorities said.

The case became a flash point in the nation's immigration debate, with President Donald Trump tweeting about it and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Braun featuring it in an Indiana campaign advertisement.

Although Orrego-Savala's attorneys have withdrawn their motion to suppress the confession they can again seek to have it thrown out if they wish, said Ryan Mears, chief trial deputy for the Marion County Prosecutor's Office.

Hawkins approved an order Tuesday requiring Orrego-Savala to provide a DNA sample prosecutors have sought after his attorneys did not oppose their request.

Mears said that sample will be compared to DNA found in a pickup truck to determine Orrego-Savala's presence in that vehicle. He said those tests will "certainly be helpful if his DNA is found at the scene Authentic Mats Zuccarello Jersey , particularly inside the vehicle we think he was driving."

Prosecutors have also said the sample would confirm his identity, noting that he has used various aliases.

Orrego-Savala's next pre-trial hearing in the case is scheduled for May 18.


After struggling with a knee injury late last season, Devonta Freeman says he is on track to returning to the form that made him the NFL’s highest-paid running back.

Freeman missed two games for the Atlanta Falcons last season following his second concussion in four months. Then a sprained right knee cut into his production in the last few games of 2017. The injury helped to keep him from his third straight season with 1,000 yards rushing. It also helped to stop the Falcons’ bid for a return trip to the Super Bowl.

No offseason surgery was necessary, and Freeman said Wednesday his knee is feeling better.

”I’m able to do a lot of things I couldn’t do back in January and February, running, cutting Kyle Freeland Colorado Rockies Jersey , sprinting, getting a little stronger,” Freeman said.

Freeman said he’s ”making harder cuts” and ”sprinting a little faster” in his offseason workouts .

He said he wants to be ”100 percent healthy” for the team’s minicamp in June and training camp in July.

”Be able to be ready for game one,” he said.

Two straight Pro Bowl seasons earned Freeman a five-year, $41.25 million extension before the 2017 season. It was the top overall salary package for any NFL running back. Only Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell has a higher average salary.

Health problems quickly followed Freeman’s big new deal.

He spent the last two weeks of the preseason in concussion protocol before suffering another concussion on the second play of Atlanta’s 27-7 win over Dallas on Nov. 12. He missed the next two games but returned with three strong games, including a season-high 126 yards rushing at Tampa Bay on Dec. 18.

The knee injury helped to limit Freeman’s production the rest of the season. He was held to a combined 59 yards rushing in the final two regular-season games and then managed only seven yards on 10 carries in a playoff loss to Philadelphia.

Following the season, Freeman said he feared he would need surgery on the right knee. No surgery was needed Cheap Barkevious Mingo Jersey , so he has focused on rebuilding strength through his offseason program.

Freeman’s health will be a key for Atlanta’s offense, which led the league in scoring in 2016 before falling to mid-pack in the league last year. The Falcons will be closely watching Freeman’s health, as top backup Tevin Coleman is entering the final year of his contract.

The Falcons selected running back Ito Smith from Southern Mississippi in the fourth round of last week’s NFL draft. Smith is expected to replace Terron Ward as the team’s third running back, behind Freeman and Coleman.

General manager Thomas Dimitroff said Smith was not drafted to be a safety net if the team can’t re-sign Coleman.

”That’s not what we’re looking back,” Dimitroff said Saturday. ”We’re looking at him being a nice addition in that third position.”

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