Judge hearing arguments over deportation of Maryland man to El Salvador
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(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge is hearing arguments Friday in the case of a Maryland man with protected legal status who was sent to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador following an “administrative error” by the Trump administration.
The government has acknowledged the error but said in a court filing that because Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia is no longer in U.S. custody, the court cannot order him to be returned to the U.S., nor can the court order El Salvador to return him.
Last month, Abrego Garcia, who has a U.S. citizen wife and 5-year-old child, was stopped by ICE officers who “informed him that his immigration status had changed,” according to his attorneys. He was detained and then transferred to a detention center in Texas, after which he was sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison, along with more than 200 alleged Venezuelan gang members, on March 15.
Abrego Garcia entered the United States in 2011 when he was 16 to escape gang violence in El Salvador, according to his lawyers. His attorneys say that in 2019, a confidential informant “had advised that Abrego Garcia was an active member” of the gang MS-13. Abrego Garcia later filed an I-589 application for asylum, and although he was found removable, an immigration judge “granted him withholding of removal to El Salvador.”
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys said that he “is not a member of or has no affiliation with Tren de Aragua, MS-13, or any other criminal or street gang” and said that the U.S. government “has never produced an iota of evidence to support this unfounded accusation.”
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt — while acknowledging the error — called Abrego Garcia a leader of MS-13.
“The administration maintains the position that this individual who was deported to El Salvador and will not be returning to our country was a member of the brutal and vicious MS-13 gang,” Leavitt said.
(NEW ORLEANS) — A fourth woman has been arrested for allegedly helping inmates who broke out of a New Orleans jail last week, police said.
Casey Smith, 30, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly assisting two of the 10 inmates who escaped from the Orleans Justice Center on May 16, according to the New Orleans Police Department.
“Through investigation, members of the NOPD’s Special Operations Division Tactical II team obtained information linking Smith to allegedly aiding at least two of the reported escapees as they were transported to multiple locations in the hours following their escape,” the New Orleans Police Department said in a press release on Friday announcing the arrest.
Smith allegedly admitted to aiding in the escapees’ transport along with 32-year-old Cortnie Harris, who was arrested on Wednesday, police said. Smith has been booked for accessory after the fact to simple escape.
Smith is the fifth person, including a jail employee, arrested in connection with the jailbreak.
In addition to Harris, state police announced on Wednesday that 38-year-old Corvanntay Baptiste was arrested and charged with felony counts of being accessories after the fact. They were both booked at the Plaquemines Parish Detention Center, officials said.
On Thursday, a Slidell woman was taken into custody for allegedly helping a fugitive who is still at large following the jailbreak, Louisiana State Police said.
Connie Weeden, 59, was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center on Thursday. She faces a felony charge of accessory after the fact for allegedly assisting Jermaine Donald, one of the five escapees still on the run, police said.
“Weeden was in contact via phone both before and after the escape,” Louisiana State Police officials said in a statement. “Investigators determined that after the escape, she provided Donald with cash through a cell phone app.”
Donald remains at large, along with four others who broke out of the Orleans Justice Center on May 16. Authorities have recaptured five of the original 10 inmates who escaped.
Law enforcement officials warned that helping fugitives will carry serious consequences.
“Those who choose to assist or conceal these individuals are violating the law and will be held accountable,” said state police. “Harboring fugitives threatens the safety of our communities and will not be tolerated.”
Under Louisiana law, a conviction for accessory after the fact carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $500, or both.
Amid an ongoing investigation into the escape of inmates, the Orleans Parish District Attorney issued subpoenas on Thursday to Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson and other sheriff’s office staff members.
The order demanded access to emails, text messages and internal messages from or to Hutson and other sheriff’s office staff and contractors, including those to Sterling Williams, a jail maintenance worker who was arrested in connection with the jailbreak.
Williams, a 33-year-old maintenance worker at the Orleans Parish Justice Center, was arrested and booked into jail Tuesday morning, according to Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill.
Williams allegedly shut off the water to a toilet to help clear the way for the inmates to escape, sources said. The prisoners, including three who are charged with second-degree murder and remain on the run, were able to crawl out through a hole after ripping the toilet off its hinges. Williams’s lawyer has denied he intended to help in the inmates’ escape and said a deputy asked him to shut the water off due to a clogged fixture.
“Did he admit he turned the water off? Yes, absolutely, and we’re not denying that. Did he confess to conspiring to aid violent criminals to escape the jail, climb a wall, run across the interstate and terrorize the city? Absolutely not,” lawyer Michael Kennedy told ABC News.
Four other jail employees have been suspended in this investigation.
(HOMER, Alaska) — A family that went missing on a boat trip in Alaska has finally been found after nine months of searching, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
The Maynard family, including a mother and father and their two children, went missing in August 2024 on a boat excursion in Kachemak Bay near Homer, Alaska Wildlife Troopers said. The family was on a 28-foot aluminum boat with four other people when a distress call was made for the boat taking on water. Four people were rescued from a life raft by good Samaritans, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
At the time, the U.S. Coast Guard conducted an active search and rescue mission for David Maynard, 42; Mary Maynard, 37; Colton Maynard, 11; and Brantley Maynard, 8, but it was ultimately unsuccessful, officials said. The family, from Waco, Texas, was ultimately designated as missing persons.
In April, the search began anew with Support Vessels of Alaska, Vision Subsea and Benthic Geoscience offering the use of their professional tools to search Kachemak Bay for the missing boat and the Maynards, according to officials.
They found success in early May, when the vessel was found in 180 feet of water, according to Alaska Wildlife Troopers, a division of the Alaska DPS. Using a remotely operated vehicle, searchers were able to confirm the vessel they located was the missing boat with potential human remains on board, troopers said.
Volunteers, with assistance from Alaska Wildlife Troopers, conducted dive operations into the vessel on Tuesday and Wednesday and recovered three sets of remains from the vessel, according to troopers.
The remains were transported to the Alaska State Medical Examiner’s Office for positive identification and autopsy, troopers said.
Volunteer search teams continue to look for a fourth set of human remains.
“The Alaska Wildlife Troopers would like to thank Support Vessels of Alaska, Vision Subsea, Benthic Geoscience Inc, and Alaska Dive Search, Rescue, and Recovery Team for their continued assistance with this search and recovery operation,” Alaska Wildlife Troopers said in statement.
Alaska Dive Search, Rescue and Recovery Team is a nonprofit funded by donations that responds to incidents throughout the state, according to the organization.
“All team members leave their paid jobs and families to do mission around the state to being closure to families and communities around the state,” the team Thursday said in a statement on Facebook.
Next of kin have been notified of the remains found, troopers said.
“We have been very busy and are still searching the vessel for additional remains. Identification of the remains will be released by DPS once the medical examiner completes their work,” Alaska Dive Search, Rescue and Recovery Team said in a statement Wednesday.
