ALEXANDRIA, Va. (DC News Now) — The Department of Justice motioned to drop the charges against an alleged top MS-13 gang leader who was arrested in northern Virginia last month, according to court documents.
This comes after the accused leader, 24-year-old Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, was arrested in the Dale City area of Woodbridge nearly two weeks ago.
On March 27, the FBI’s Special Weapons and Tactics Team executed a federal search warrant at Santos’ family home. He was detained on an administration immigration warrant and was charged with illegal gun possession.
Court documents obtained by DC News Now detailed that illegal guns, ammunition and suppressors were also recovered at the Dale City home.
His arrest made national headlines and was praised by President Donald Trump and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
During a press conference following Santos’ arrest, Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated that Santos was from El Salvador and was one of the top three leaders of the MS-13 gang operating in the East Coast region. She accused Santos of being behind several violent crimes and stated he was recruited into the MS-13 gang at a young age.
Court documents revealed that on April 8, the Office of the Federal Public Defender withdrew from the case due to a conflict of interest. The next day, Santos was appointed with a new lawyer.
However, less than two hours later, the government filed a motion to dismiss the case.
In response, Santos’ lawyers filed a motion to delay the entry of dismissal for 14 days.
The document noted that Santos averred that he was afraid that if the charges were dismissed, pending the case against him, he would be released from federal custody and “immediately” be deported.
On April 10, a judge signed an order that a hearing would be useful against both motions to dismiss the charges and delay the entry of a dismissal order.
Santos’ next court hearing is set for April 15.
