The Prince George’s County Police Department in Maryland arrested and released two criminal illegal aliens, a gangster and a convicted sex offender, many times in defiance of federal immigration detainers.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested the two illegal aliens: 33-year-old Luis Sorto Gomez and 28-year-old David Alexander Retana–Castellon, on Nov. 19 and Nov. 20, ICE reported in a press release.
Both Sorto, a Salvadoran national and MS-13 member, and Retana–Castellon, a Salvadoran national and convicted sex offender, had been previously deported from the United States before their most recent arrests.
“These arrests are yet another example of a local jurisdiction choosing to release demonstrated public safety threats to the community, rather than honoring lawful detainers and allowing ICE to take custody of these individuals and keep them off of the street,” said Francisco Madrigal, Baltimore field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Authorities in McDowell County, North Carolina arrested Sorto for “charges of resisting arrest, assault of a government official and larceny.”
Prince George’s County had an active arrest warrant for Sorto because he failed to appear in court for multiple local charges.
ICE learned that McDowell County authorities had Sorto in custody, so the agency referred his case to federal prosecutors, who charged him with illegally reentering the United States.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina found him guilty on May 3, 2016, and sentenced him to 14 months imprisonment.
But McDowell County transferred him to Prince George’s County, which then released him on 2 July 2016.
Sorto, now in federal custody, awaits deportation to El Salvador.
The Circuit Court for Prince George’s County found Retana–Castellon guilty of third-degree sex offense and sentenced him to eight months imprisonment.
But the court vacated his sentence after he had served three days in prison.
Then ICE officers arrested him for illegal reentry on Oct. 9, 2019 and referred him to the United States Marshals Service for prosecution.
Despite Retana-Castellon’s criminal history, the judge released him before the trial.
At trial, the Maryland District Court found him guilty of illegal reentry but sentenced him to time served and transferred him to Prince George’s County. The county released him in defiance of an ICE detainer.
The Prince George’s County Police Department arrested Retana–Castellon again on 7 Sept. 2020 for failing to register as a sex offender.
The county released him in defiance of an ICE detainer on 6 Nov. 2020, and ICE rearrested him two weeks later.
Retana–Castellon, now in federal custody, awaits deportation to El Salvador.
