Former MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced for Assault
A former MS-13 gang member was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for assaulting and impeding a transportation officer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to court documents, on July 3, Marlon Danilo Rivas-Mendez, 28, an El Salvadoran national, was being transported from the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center to an ICE facility for deportation. Rivas-Mendez had previously been deported to El Salvador five times and had recently been found in Loudoun County after having again re-entered the United States illegally. During the transportation, Rivas-Mendez complained repeatedly that his handcuffs were too tight. When the officer tried to help him, Rivas-Mendez struck the officer in the chest and neck, before fleeing the vehicle.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Russell Hott, Field Office Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Ravas and Lilian Timmermann and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Fitzpatrick prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-189.
Joshua Stueve
Director of Communications
joshua.stueve@usdoj.gov