Reputed MS-13 Leader's Criminal Case Dropped After VA Arrest, Allowing Deportation

DALE CITY, VA — A judge is allowing federal prosecutors to drop the criminal case against a man accused of being a top MS-13 leader after a high-profile arrest in Dale City. That allows federal authorities to instead deport Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, who has been called a top East Coast gang leader.

On Tuesday, a judge in Alexandria federal court approved the motion to dismiss the case against Villatoro Santos, 24. The judge rejected Villatoro Santos's motion to delay the case dismissal.

However, Villatoro Santos will remain in U.S. Marshal custody until 10 a.m. Friday, April 18. At that time, he can be transferred to the Department of Homeland Security, the federal agency that U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement falls under.

According to NBC Washington, Villatoro Santos's lawyer argued that it was a "political decision" and that federal officials created a "high profile spectacle out of" Villatoro Santos. The judge indicated the court shouldn't question the decision not to prosecute and that this court wasn't the location to fight the deportation.

After his March 27 arrest at a Dale City home, Trump administration officials identified Villatoro Santos as the top MS-13 leader of the East Coast. The case in court was related to a possession of a firearm by an undocumented immigrant charge.

SEE ALSO: MS-13 Leader Arrest In Prince William Co.: 5 Things To Know

During the arrest, law enforcement found signs of MS-13 association in a garage bedroom of the home, according to the affidavit. That was the only MS-13 reference in unsealed court documents, but several remained sealed.

Court documents on April 9 indicated the federal government wanted to drop the case to seek deportation instead of prosecution.

A lawyer representing Villatoro Santos had requested a 14-day delay to the case dismissal, claiming the deportation would be carried out without due process.

According to the lawyer, Villatoro Santos would likely be sent to "one of the worst prisons in the world" in El Salvador without a right to fight his deportation. The lawyer cited other cases of immigrants facing deportation without due process, including the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident with legal status that a judge said was wrongly deported. There has been a battle between the administration and courts in the push to return Abrego Garcia from El Salvador.