Latest news with #TaurusG2C9mm
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DOJ moves to drop Virginia case against Salvadoran alleged MS-13 gang leader
The Brief Villatoro Santos faces deportation under ICE detainer. Officials claim Villatoro Santos is a top MS-13 leader on the East Coast. Defense warns of risks if deported to El Salvador without due process. WASHINGTON - The Department of Justice on Wednesday filed a motion to dismiss its case against Henrry Jose Villatoro Santos, a Salvadoran national living in Virginia who was accused of being an MS-13 leader. What we know According to federal court documents obtained by FOX News, Villatoro Santos faced only one federal charge of illegal firearms possession. FBI agents executed a search warrant at his Woodbridge residence on March 27 and discovered a Taurus G2C 9mm pistol, three additional firearms, ammunition, and two suppressors in a bedroom, the documents said. "As a terrorist, he will now face the removal process," Attorney General Pam Bondi told FOX News on Wednesday evening. A motion filed Wednesday evening to delay the dismissal of the case against Villatoro Santos states that his newly appointed counsel understands "the Government now intends to pursue the deportation of Mr. Villatoro Santos in lieu of prosecution." READ MORE: Charges dropped for man arrested in Virginia, accused of being top MS-13 gang leader Click to open this PDF in a new window. "The above is a fairly straightforward procedural history," the defense's motion, filed by attorney Muhammed Sayed, said. "But in the background of this routine legal process, the United States government, at its highest levels, has been publicly and loudly propagating allegations that Mr. Villatoro Santos 'is one of the top leaders of MS-13' and 'one of the leaders for the East Coast, one of the top in the entire country,' claims made by Attorney General Pam Bondi at a high-level press conference on March 27, 2025." During a news conference following his arrest, Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel identified Villatoro Santos as the top MS-13 leader on the East Coast. They were joined at the briefing by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove. "He will not be living in our country much longer," Bondi said at the time. Sayed stated that the government intends to remove his client from the United States under an ICE detainer. "The danger of Mr. Villatoro Santos being unlawfully deported by ICE without due process and removed to El Salvador, where he would almost certainly be immediately detained at one of the worst prisons in the world without any right to contest his removal, is substantial, both in light of the Government's recent actions and the very public pronouncements in this case," he wrote. READ MORE: Identity of MS-13 top leader arrested in Virginia released The Source Information in this article comes from FOX News, the Associated Press, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and previous FOX 5 reporting.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Yahoo
Former Delaware County deputy charged with drug trafficking
JAY, Okla. – A former Delaware County K9 officer has been arrested on charges of trafficking drugs and stashing drugs, weapons, and credit cards from suspects after they were in custody. Michael Bernheisel, 47, of Disney, is charged in Delaware County District Court with willful neglect by a state officer, possession of a controlled dangerous substance in trafficking, and embezzlement. The former officer is accused of retaining some evidence for several cases up to 10 months, compromising the chain of custody. Sheriff Ray Thomas noticed irregularities in Bernheisel's investigation reports, insubordination, and failure to complete assignments, and offered him another position within the sheriff's department. In December, the former deputy refused to be reassigned and resigned from the Delaware County Sheriff's Office. The investigation shows Bernheisel worked at the sheriff's department between November 1, 2023, and December 9. During a search of his department-issued vehicle, a 2022 Dodge Ram Pickup K9 Unit, investigators found '333 items,' including 'narcotic paraphernalia, a Springfield XD Semi-Automatic weapon, a Taurus G2C 9mm, Semi-Automatic weapon, one of which was reported stolen by the Joplin Police Department. Other items included ammunition, cocaine, cannabis, cannabis derivatives, and over 20 grams of Methamphetamine, according to the 18-page probable cause affidavit. Investigators also found a Lipton canister containing cannabis in the vehicle's storage compartment and baggies containing drugs under the driver's seat, as well as driver's licenses and credit cards, court records show. Investigators also found evidence bags containing drugs, including one bag that contained over 32 grams of a 'white crystal-like substance,' a broken glass pipe, and a county-owned tablet not released to Bernheisel, court records show. Bernheisel also allegedly turned over a set of BMW keys, including 12 on a lanyard, to the sheriff's department. According to online records, he is free on $30,000 bail and ordered to return to court on April 21 with an attorney. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
