A convicted MS-13 gang member, sought for a brutal execution-style murder, has been released from federal custody in California following a federal judge's order. The decision has drawn intense criticism from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta mandated the release of 35-year-old David Antonio Aviles Perez, also known as "the witch," after determining that immigration authorities had detained him for five months without providing a bond hearing or assessing whether he posed a risk to the public or a flight risk.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin strongly condemned the action, accusing the judge, appointed by President Biden, of jeopardizing public safety by authorizing Aviles Perez's release.
"This radical activist judge has put American lives at risk by releasing a wanted murderer," Mullin stated in a Saturday announcement. "This is now the SECOND time this dangerous illegal has been released back onto the streets in California. Because sanctuary politicians want to play politics from the bench, innocent Americans are in danger."
Judicial Rationale for Release
The core of the case revolves around a 2014 gang killing in El Salvador and a legal dispute concerning the authority of the previous administration to detain immigrants during removal proceedings. Judge Ohta's ruling centered on the principle of due process.
Aviles Perez, identified by Salvadoran prosecutors as an active MS-13 member known as "La Bruja," was convicted in absentia in December 2025 and sentenced to 20 years for aggravated murder.
His release was ordered after he filed a petition challenging his detention, arguing that his Fifth Amendment due process rights were violated. Judge Ohta concurred, stating that immigration officials failed to provide an individualized assessment of his danger or flight risk.
"Although Petitioner appears to have previously been convicted following a fight with another individual in May 2023, the government has offered no evidence that it detained him after considering those facts and making an individualized determination of his danger to the public or flight risk," Judge Ohta wrote.
The judge highlighted that federal officials offered Aviles Perez "no process before or after his detention" and had not demonstrated that providing a hearing would impose an undue burden on the government. Consequently, Ohta ordered his immediate release and prohibited Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from detaining him again unless an immigration judge first conducts a bond hearing and determines that further detention is justified.
A status report was filed in the case on August 27, the day after the release order, confirming Aviles Perez's subsequent release from federal custody. The ruling did not exonerate Aviles Perez or declare him harmless; rather, it focused on the procedural adherence of immigration officials in justifying his detention.
Background of Aviles Perez
Salvadoran prosecutors detailed the 2014 murder, explaining that Aviles Perez and another MS-13 member pursued a man through a mountainous region in La Unión. Other gang members then compelled the victim to stop and kneel.
With the victim held by the shoulders, Aviles Perez and his accomplice approached. The assailants then shot the man in the chest, back, and face before fleeing the scene. Both defendants faced trial and conviction while outside El Salvador.
According to DHS, Aviles Perez entered the United States at an unspecified date and location. His arrest in the U.S. occurred in Monterey, California, in 2023, following allegations that he wielded a machete against a homeless man at Laguna Grande Park, near Monterey State Beach. He reportedly concealed the weapon, which officers later recovered from a nearby Holiday Inn parking lot.
Aviles Perez was charged and convicted after this incident but was later released from custody. DHS attributed this release to California’s sanctuary policies, which restrict collaboration between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.
ICE agents apprehended him once more in San Diego on March 26, taking him into custody for his impending removal to El Salvador. He was held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center until Judge Ohta mandated his immediate release on August 26, as indicated by federal court documents.
Judicial Appointments and Executive Response
California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Judge Ohta to the San Diego County Superior Court in December 2020. President Joe Biden later nominated her to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in September 2021. The Senate confirmed her nomination that December, and her judicial commission was issued later the same month, according to the Federal Judicial Center.
Secretary Mullin reaffirmed the administration's commitment to immigration enforcement, asserting that the ruling would not impede their efforts.
"DHS and ICE will not be deterred by these partisan games," he declared. "If California’s leaders won’t protect Americans, DHS will."
