Judge dismisses case against Virginia man Trump admin. called top MS-13 leader
A federal judge has dismissed a gun charge against a 24-year-old Virginia man the Trump administration called a top MS-13 leader.
Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos still faces removal to his native El Salvador after Senior Judge Claude Hilton's brief April 30 order dismissing the felony charge, as requested by federal prosecutors. Villatoro Santos doesn't have legal status in the United States and remains at risk for being sent to a notorious mega-prison in his native El Salvador, despite the drop in charges, his lawyer said in court filings.
The Trump administration has sent hundreds of migrants accused of ties to Salvadoran and Venezuelan gangs to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. Many of those expelled to the prison neither had criminal records nor gang ties.
A federal judge decided May 1 that the Trump administration could not send immigrants to detention in El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act. Later that day the administration asked the Supreme Court to consider the case.
Villatoro Santos is now in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at the Farmville Detention Center, in Virginia, according to court records. He has an immigration court hearing June 3.
His lawyer, Muhammad Elsayed, said in an emailed statement May 2 that the government has used Villatoro Santos 'as a prop in a political publicity stunt.'
'No one in America should have to wonder whether they will be afforded their basic due process rights when they are detained by the government,' he said, 'and no one should live in fear that they may be forcibly disappeared to a foreign autocracy in the middle of the night.'
In late March, top administration officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, touted Villatoro Santos' arrest at his mother's home in Prince William County, outside of Washington, D.C. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a fellow Republican, blamed Democrats for not arresting Villatoro Santos sooner.
With little evidence, officials called Villatoro Santos one of the top three MS-13 leaders in the country, responsible for overseeing gang operations along the East Coast.
'America is safer today because one of the top domestic terrorists in MS-13, he is off the streets,' Bondi said at the time.
The Department of Justice did not return a request for comment May 2 about the dismissal of charges. The FBI, whose agents staked out Villatoro Santos' family home, declined to comment. Youngkin's office referred questions to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Virginia's eastern district declined to comment, citing it as an ongoing matter.
Prince William County Police referred questions to federal officials and declined to comment on any alleged gang ties. Virginia court records indicate Villatoro Santos had a November case that resulted in two misdemeanors for driving without a license and driving without insurance. Before then, he pleaded guilty to marijuana possession, a misdemeanor, in 2019.
The arrest at his mother's home revealed Villatoro Santos appeared to live in a garage converted to a bedroom. Inside, an ICE deportation officer said in court filings that officials found a few firearms, ammunition, two suppressors, and 'indicia' of MS-13 affiliation.
Federal prosecutors charged him with a single felony, of an undocumented immigrant possessing a gun. But less than two weeks later, prosecutors moved to withdraw the case entirely. The same day, April 9, Bondi said officials would seek to remove him from the country.
In emergency motions he acknowledged as "unusual," Elsayed sought to delay the federal case being dismissed against his client. He worried Villatoro Santos would be removed and held without due process in the Salvadoran prison, known as CECOT.
He pointed to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, the Maryland father mistakenly deported to El Salvador who was placed in CECOT. Federal courts have ordered his return.
In response to Villatoro Santos' potential removal, federal prosecutors said in court filings, 'It is well within the prerogative of the United States to seek the removal of aliens who are illegally or unlawfully in this country in lieu of prosecuting them, regardless of whether charges have been filed.'
Elsayed said Villatoro Santos has now had a hearing before district and magistrate judges, and now an immigration judge. He said this demonstrates "our system is capable of handling these matters and in an expeditious manner."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judge drops case against Va. man branded ms-13 leader by Trump admin
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