An MS-13 gang member convicted in a savage execution-style murder is out of federal custody in California after a federal judge ordered his immediate release, igniting fury from the Trump administration. District Judge Jinsook Ohta ordered the release of David Antonio Aviles Perez, 35, aka "the witch," after finding that immigration officials held him for five months without giving him a bond hearing or individually determining whether he posed a danger to the public or a flight risk. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin accused the Biden-appointed judge of putting the public in danger by ordering Aviles Perez’s release.
DHS EVISCERATES MEDIA FOR ‘ABSOLUTE ABSURDITY’ OVER CONCERN ABOUT ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ACTIVIST JUDGES LIST "This radical activist judge has put American lives at risk by releasing a wanted murderer," Mullin said in a statement Saturday. "This is now the SECOND time this dangerous illegal has been released back onto the streets in California," he added. "Because sanctuary politicians want to play politics from the bench, innocent Americans are in danger." SANCTUARY LAWS COULD STOP POLICE FROM PROTECTING KIDS.
SO WE’RE SUING CALIFORNIA The case centers on a brutal 2014 gang killing in El Salvador and a legal fight over the Trump administration’s authority to detain immigrants while removal proceedings unfold. Alvise Pérez, identified by Salvadoran prosecutors as an active MS-13 member also known as "La Bruja," or "The Witch," was convicted while outside El Salvador in December 2025, and sentenced to 20 years in prison for aggravated murder. ICE NABS ACCUSED MS-13 KILLER HIDING IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA SUBURB Prosecutors said Aviles Perez and another MS-13 member chased a man through a mountainous area in La Unión before fellow gang members forced the victim to stop and kneel.
The victim was held by the shoulders as Aviles Perez and his accomplice approached, prosecutors said. The gang members then shot the man in the chest, back and face before fleeing. Both defendants were tried and convicted while outside the country.
Aviles Perez entered the U.S. at an unknown date and location, according to DHS. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH BRUTAL SLAYING ONE DAY AFTER CALIFORNIA JUDGE RELEASED HIM: DHS He was arrested in Monterey, California, in 2023, after allegedly swinging a machete at a homeless man at Laguna Grande Park near Monterey State Beach. He allegedly hid the weapon before officers recovered it from a nearby Holiday Inn parking lot.
Aviles Perez was charged and convicted following the incident but later released from custody. DHS blamed California’s sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local authorities and federal immigration officials. DHS BUYS TWO CALIFORNIA MIGRANT DETENTION CENTERS FOR $1.5B TO BOOST ICE DEPORTATION CAPACITY ICE agents arrested him again in San Diego on March 26, and took him into custody pending his removal to El Salvador.
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