A federal judge on Tuesday granted the prosecution’s motion to dismiss a criminal case against the alleged East Coast leader of MS-13 in Virginia, clearing the way for authorities to deport him.
Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick allowed federal prosecutors to drop their lone gun charge against Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, just weeks after the suspected gang leader was arrested in a dramatic raid at his home that was attended by Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Court documents show that Mr. Villatoro Santos, 24, won’t be transferred over to the Department of Homeland Security until Friday so his defense team can explore other potential challenges.
Defense attorney Muhammad Elsayed fought the dismissal during the hearing Tuesday by calling it “clearly a political decision.” But Judge Fitzpatrick said it’s not his place to question the prosecutors’ decision to abandon the criminal case.
Last week, Mr. Elsayed argued that the Trump administration will likely send his client to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, without any trial or due process.
“The risk of this turning effectively into a life sentence without any due process is very real,” the defense attorney wrote in a court filing.
The Trump administration has cited an 18th-century wartime law to justify the rapid deporations of hundreds of suspected gang members from MS-13 and Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua. Many of those being deported are winding up in El Salvador’s 40,000-inmate prison.
According to the criminal complaint, the FBI’s SWAT team on March 27 busted into the suspect’s home and tossed stun grenades before arresting him.
The filing said agents seized a Brazilian-made handgun in the suspect’s garage bedroom.
Authorities also found three more guns, ammunition, suppressors and “indicia of MS-13 association” in the garage bedroom, according to court documents.
“America is safer today because one of the top domestic terrorists in MS-13 is off the streets,” Ms. Bondi said at the time.
The complaint said Mr. Villatoro Santos was originally sought 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 going in and out of the home throughout March.
Virginia court records showed Mr. Villatoro Santos had prior convictions for marijuana possession in 2018 and was convicted last fall for driving without a license and without insurance. Both offenses took place in Prince William County.
