The suspect in the grisly murder of a Massachusetts sandwich shop owner is a 25-year-old illegal alien from the Dominican Republic who was released into the U.S. after he was stopped near the border in Texas under then-President Joe Biden in September 2022, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Eric Dionida German-Pena is charged with the murder of Ilias Mavros, better known as Louie and the owner of Crazy Buzzy’s Roast Beef and Seafood in Lynn.

“Eric Dionida German-Pena will have his day in court, but he stands accused of a very serious and disturbing crime against a member of our Massachusetts community,” Patricia Hyde, the acting field director of ICE’s Boston Enforcement and Removal Operations office, said in a statement. “ICE Boston takes its public safety mission extremely seriously — which is why we’ve lodged an immigration detainer against him with Lynn police.”

Ilias “Louie” Mavros, second from left, pictured in an undated photo. The owner of Crazy Buzzy’s sandwich shop in Lynn, Massachusetts, was found dead in his home on Feb. 3, 2025. (WFXT)

Mavros was an American citizen who police found tied up in his own basement – with his skull bashed in, in an apparent home invasion robbery, according to a federal law enforcement source. 

An online obituary described Mavros as a lifelong Lynn resident who graduated from the local high school in 1994 and had a “heart of gold,” caring for his sick mother for nearly a decade until her death last year. 

A member of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Removal Operations (ERO) (San Francisco and Northern California) Fugitive Operations teams is pictured during an operation in San Jose, California, U.S. September 25, 2019.   (REUTERS/Kate Munsch)

“Louie was an extraordinary individual, and his absence will be profoundly felt,” reads a post on Crazy Buzzy’s Facebook page. “In tribute to his legacy, Crazy Buzzy’s will remain open.”

The slaying comes amid a crackdown on thousands of known criminal aliens across the U.S. ordered late last month when President Donald Trump returned to office.