SAN DIEGO, CA - A 35-year-old convicted murderer with ties to MS-13 was reportedly released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after a Biden-appointed judge ruled that the agency didn’t conduct an “individualized determination of his danger to the public or flight risk” and thus ordered his immediate release.
According to reports, U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta ordered the release of 35-year-old David Antonio Aviles Perez in late August after finding ICE had not conducted a formal bond hearing for the man who had been apprehended by the agency this past March. Aviles Perez’s criminal background dates back to 2014, when an execution-style killing occurred in El Salvador, for which he was convicted in absentia in December 2025.
Salvadoran officials say Aviles Perez, who reportedly goes by the moniker “La Bruja,” which translates to “The Witch,” was accompanied by another MS-13 gang member while chasing down a man in a mountainous area in La Unión, eventually tracking the man down and making him kneel before shooting him in the back, chest, and face.
While federal authorities concede they’re unaware of where and when Aviles Perez entered the United States illegally, his presence in the country dates back to at least 2023, when he was convicted in California in connection with a machete-wielding attack against a homeless man in Monterey. Aviles Perez was released back into the community after apparently completing his sentence in California, a fact that was criticized by immigration officials in response to his latest court-ordered release.
“This radical activist judge has put American lives at risk by releasing a wanted murderer. 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. DHS and ICE will not be deterred by these partisan games. If California’s leaders won’t protect Americans, DHS will,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said regarding the matter.
In Judge Ohta’s August 26 decision ordering Aviles Perez’s release, she criticized the federal government for not abiding by a formal bond hearing at which the convicted murderer’s “danger to the public” could be properly assessed in determining bail for his immigration proceedings.
“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’s decision reads in part.
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