Federal prosecutors in Virginia dismissed Wednesday the lone legal cost introduced towards the alleged chief of MS-13’s legal operation on the East Coast.
The U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace in Alexandria dropped its gun cost towards Henrry Villatoro Santos, 24, who was arrested by federal brokers final month in Prince William County in a predawn raid that had Gov. Glenn Youngkin, FBI Director Kash Patel and Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi in attendance.
“America is safer right this moment as a result of one of many high home terrorists in MS-13 is off the streets,” Ms Bondi mentioned on the time.
It was not instantly clear why the fees had been dropped or whether or not this implies Mr. Villatoro Santos shall be launched into the U.S. or deported to El Salvador as an unlawful immigrant.
The Washington Occasions contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement for remark.
The case was dismissed with out prejudice, which means prosecutors can file the identical fees afterward in the event that they so select.
In accordance with the legal grievance, the March 27 raid noticed the FBI’s SWAT crew bust into Mr. Villatoro Santos’ dwelling in Woodbridge and toss stun grenades earlier than arresting him.
The submitting mentioned brokers seized a Brazilian-made handgun within the suspect’s room, positioned within the dwelling’s storage.
Authorities additionally discovered three extra weapons, ammunition, suppressors and “indicia of MS-13 affiliation” within the storage bed room, in accordance with court docket paperwork.
The grievance mentioned Mr. Villatoro Santos was initially sought out on an impressive immigration warrant.
The Woodbridge dwelling, which belongs to the suspect’s mom, got here beneath federal surveillance following a reported housebreaking on the home in August. Federal brokers mentioned they noticed Mr. Villatoro Santos coming out and in of the house all through March.
Mr. Villatoro Santos beforehand had been charged with marijuana possession in 2018 and 2019 and convicted for the primary cost.
The Salvadoran unlawful immigrant was additionally charged final August with driving with out a license, driving with out insurance coverage and driving an uninsured automotive. He was discovered responsible on two of these fees after skipping his November court docket listening to.
After the raid, Mr. Youngkin mentioned the arrest marked a step ahead in Virginia’s dedication to cracking down on legal unlawful immigrants.
The Republican governor credited an settlement with President Trump’s crew for deputizing Virginia State Police to assist apprehend unlawful migrants — a far cry from the governor’s earlier relationship with President Biden.
“Till we had been in a position to usher in the federal sources on this manner, bringing down any individual like this could not have been doable,” Mr. Youngkin mentioned final month.
Prince William County, a closely Democratic suburb simply outdoors the District the place each the arrest and Mr. Villatoro Santos’ earlier convictions came about, ranks excessive on a brand new nationwide research taking a look at which jurisdictions refused voluminous deportation “detainer” requests from federal Homeland Safety officers in recent times.
Neighboring Fairfax County, which is simply north of Prince William, had the third-most detainer requests that weren’t honored by native police, in accordance with the research performed by the Middle for Immigration Research.
Each counties adhere to “sanctuary” insurance policies which ignore federal requests to show over for deporttaion these unlawful immigrants who wind up behind bars on state offenses.
• Stephen Dinan contributed to this report.
