{"id":2398,"date":"2025-04-09T23:57:59","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T23:57:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunnewsusa.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/09\/doj-seeks-to-drop-charges-against-man-it-said-was-east-coast-leader-of-ms-13-gang\/"},"modified":"2025-04-09T23:58:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T23:58:00","slug":"doj-seeks-to-drop-charges-against-man-it-said-was-east-coast-leader-of-ms-13-gang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunnewsusa.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/09\/doj-seeks-to-drop-charges-against-man-it-said-was-east-coast-leader-of-ms-13-gang\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ seeks to drop charges against man it said was “East Coast leader” of MS-13 gang"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Justice Department seeks to drop its criminal case against a Virginia man accused of being the “East Coast leader” of the MS-13 gang, weeks after Attorney General Pam Bondi<\/a><\/span> announced his arrest in a nationally televised press conference last month. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bondi referred to Henrry Villatoro Santos as “one of the top members and head of the East Coast” of the violent MS-13 gang during a March 27 news conference in Manassas, Virginia. She also accused Villatoro Santos of being responsible for “very violent crimes, anything you can associate with MS-13. He was the leader over it \u2014 all of the violent crimes.”<\/p>\n

In a court filing Wednesday in Alexandria, Virginia, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia asked a judge “to dismiss without prejudice the criminal complaint presently pending against the defendant.” \u00a0 \u00a0 When asked why the government was moving to drop the case, a spokesperson for Bondi responded with a clip of Bondi saying on March 27 that Villatoro Santos “won’t be in this country much longer.” \u00a0<\/p>\n

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Henry Villatoro Santos<\/span><\/p>\n

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Alexandria Sheriff’s Office<\/p>\n

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Two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News the department is likely to seek to deport Villatoro Santos.<\/p>\n

“As a terrorist, he will now face the removal process,” Bondi said in a statement following CBS News’ reporting.<\/p>\n

Any decision to deport Villatoro-Santos without first securing a criminal conviction on the crimes alleged by Bondi would break historical precedent, according to two former Justice Department officials who spoke with CBS News.<\/p>\n

Scott Fredericksen, a former federal prosecutor, told CBS News, “Historically and consistently, if someone truly is a leader of a violent gang, we would always prosecute them first and convict them first \u2014 and make sure they can’t get back into the country.”<\/p>\n

Charging documents filed against Villatoro Santos last month made only a fleeting reference to his alleged affiliation to MS-13. The charging documents said, “FBI agents and (task force officers) also observed indicia of MS-13 association in the garage bedroom” of Villatoro Santos’ home. He was charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and was ordered detained by a magistrate judge, pending future hearings.<\/p>\n

At the March 27 news conference, Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin also appeared and referred to Villatoro-Santos as “One of the top operatives in MS-13.”<\/p>\n

A defense lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment.<\/p>\n

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