The man accused of threatening to kill passengers on a Greyhound bus last week is being ordered held without bond in Lake County.
Through an interpreter, 33-year-old Margarito Vargas-Rosas, a Milwaukee restaurant worker who lives in Chicago, was told that he is a fugitive of justice, and that he is being held without bond because he is wanted on an out-of-state warrant.
According to authorities, Vargas-Rosas has been deported from the United States before, and he admitted to a Lake County judge during his hearing on Sunday that he is not a U.S. citizen.
"(He) has been in our country illegally and has been deported some time ago back to Mexico and by virtue of his actions last night, he's back and threatening to kill Americans," Racine County sheriff Christopher Schmaling said.
Vargas-Rosas was arrested on Friday after allegedly threatening to kill passengers on a Greyhound bus that was bound for Chicago. Passengers on the bus say that Vargas-Rosas was irate after a verbal altercation, and that he could not be reasoned with.
"(He was) just saying that he was going to kill us, that he was going to put a bullet in our head," passenger Patrick Dodd said.
Passengers called 911 while the altercation was taking place, but the bus driver didn't stop, unaware of the commotion on board and thinking that police were trying to stop someone else.
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"The bus driver had no idea what was aeppening. He thought it was a training exercise," Schmaling said.
A spike strip finally disabled a wheel on the bus and the vehicle came to a stop. With guns drawn, police took the suspect into custody.
No weapon was found, but investigators are still trying to complete a thorough search of the bus.
Vargas-Rosas is being held at the Lake County Jail in Waukegan. His next court date will come on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
