Suspected East Coast leader of MS-13 has criminal charges dropped

Federal prosecutors in Virginia dismissed Wednesday the lone criminal charge brought against the alleged leader of MS-13’s criminal operation on the East Coast.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alexandria dropped its gun charge against Henrry Villatoro Santos, 24, who was arrested by federal agents last month in Prince William County in a predawn raid that had Gov. Glenn Youngkin, FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi in attendance.

“America is safer today because one of the top domestic terrorists in MS-13 is off the streets,” Ms Bondi said at the time.

It was not immediately clear why the charges were dropped or whether this means Mr. Villatoro Santos will be released into the U.S. or deported to El Salvador as an illegal immigrant.

The Washington Times contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment.

The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors can file the same charges later on if they so choose.

According to the criminal complaint, the March 27 raid saw the FBI’s SWAT team bust into Mr. Villatoro Santos’ home in Woodbridge and toss stun grenades before arresting him.

The filing said agents seized a Brazilian-made handgun in the suspect’s room, located in the home’s garage. 

Authorities also found three more guns, ammunition, suppressors and “indicia of MS-13 association” in the garage bedroom, according to court documents. 

The complaint said Mr. Villatoro Santos was originally sought out on an outstanding immigration warrant.

The Woodbridge home, which belongs to the suspect’s mother, came under federal surveillance following a reported burglary at the house in August. Federal agents said they observed Mr. Villatoro Santos coming in and out of the home throughout March. 

Mr. Villatoro Santos previously had been charged with marijuana possession in 2018 and 2019 and convicted for the first charge.

The Salvadoran illegal immigrant was also charged last August with driving without a license, driving without insurance and driving an uninsured car. He was found guilty on two of those charges after skipping his November court hearing.  

After the raid, Mr. Youngkin said the arrest marked a step forward in Virginia’s dedication to cracking down on criminal illegal immigrants. 

The Republican governor credited an agreement with President Trump’s team for deputizing Virginia State Police to help apprehend illegal migrants — a far cry from the governor’s previous relationship with President Biden.

“Until we were able to bring in the federal resources in this way, bringing down somebody like this would not have been possible,” Mr. Youngkin said last month.

Prince William County, a heavily Democratic suburb just outside the District where both the arrest and Mr. Villatoro Santos’ previous convictions took place, ranks high on a new national study looking at which jurisdictions refused voluminous deportation “detainer” requests from federal Homeland Security officials in recent years.

Neighboring Fairfax County, which is just north of Prince William, had the third-most detainer requests that were not honored by local police, according to the study conducted by the Center for Immigration Studies.

Both counties adhere to “sanctuary” policies which ignore federal requests to turn over for deporttaion those illegal immigrants who wind up behind bars on state offenses.