A known MS-13 gang member wanted for years for murder and terrorism in El Salvador has been busted living illegally in New Jersey.
The arrest Friday of Johnathan Stanley Garcia-Vasquez in West New York ends a troubling saga stretching from June 2016, when he was stopped — then released — while crossing the border illegally in Texas, the Newark office of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Monday.
The “known member of the MS-13 criminal organization” is finally awaiting deportation to El Salvador, where he has been wanted for six years on a warrant for aggravated homicide and terrorism charges, ICE said of the “transnational criminal.”
“The United States is not a safe haven for international fugitives seeking to exploit our immigration laws to evade justice in their home countries,” said John Tsoukaris, the Newark director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
“Our officers’ diligence and commitment to public safety allowed them to safely apprehend this international fugitive before he could cause harm to the citizens and residents of New Jersey.”
The gangster, who also goes by Johnathan Stanley Garcia-Garcia, was first stopped while crossing illegally into Hidalgo, Texas, in June 2016, ICE said.
He was issued an order of expedited removal and detained by ICE until Jan. 27, 2017, when he posted bond and was released.
A judge in San Miguel, El Salvador, issued an arrest warrant for him on Aug. 7, 2018, for aggravated homicide and participating in a terrorist organization, ICE said, without detailing the crimes.
A US immigration judge ordered the gangster to be removed in absentia in October 2018 — but Garcia never surrendered.
He had evaded authorities for years until his arrest last week.
