A federal jury in Maryland convicted three MS-13 gang members for racketeering conspiracy involving two murders and multiple attempted murders. The defendants lured and killed 16-year-old Gabriela Gonzalez-Ardon near Loch Raven Reservoir and Michelle Tenezaca near the CSX Bayview Train Yard in Baltimore, stabbing her 143 times. All three face mandatory life sentences.
The Department of Homeland Security announced that ICE conducted immigration enforcement operations over the weekend, arresting dangerous individuals across the country. Among those arrested was a man who had threatened to bomb a U.S. Representative's office.
Patty Morin, mother of Rachel Morin who was murdered by an illegal immigrant in Maryland, described the emotional difficulty of preparing a victim impact statement for the sentencing of Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez. She has written nine drafts, struggling with how to convey the value of her daughter's life, while also expressing the pain experienced by Rachel's five children and siblings.
Jarol Wilberto Arroyo-Cerin, a 40-year-old U.S. citizen from Maryland, was arrested after Border Patrol agents discovered 13 undocumented individuals hidden in compartments of his tractor-trailer near Deming, New Mexico. The smuggled individuals included nationals from Guatemala, Ecuador, and Mexico, and Arroyo-Cerin admitted to repeatedly transporting illegal aliens for financial compensation.
Sarah Maud Jess, 62, a Jamaican national living in Capitol Heights, Maryland, pleaded guilty to distributing more than 40 grams of fentanyl and aggravated illegal re-entry after being previously removed for a marijuana conspiracy conviction. Jess had been permanently excluded from re-entering the United States but voluntarily and unlawfully returned without inspection or permission.
Newton Ofioritse Jemide, a 47-year-old Nigerian national extradited from France, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for his role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain FEMA and other federal emergency benefits following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. The conspirators used stolen personal identities to apply for benefits and funnel the funds through hundreds of Green Dot Debit Cards.
Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler expressed confidence that large-scale ICE operations will not occur in the county due to a longstanding 287(g) agreement between local authorities and the federal agency operating out of the county's detention center. The sheriff suggested that ICE would lack strategic incentive to focus resources in Harford County given this existing cooperative partnership.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against all 15 federal district court judges in Maryland, characterizing their actions as an egregious example of unlawful judicial overreach. The DOJ's legal action targets judicial conduct that the department alleges violated federal law in the context of immigration enforcement.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 27-year-old Javid Ahmadi in Elkridge, Maryland on May 13, 2025. Ahmadi had been convicted of second-degree assault and was previously apprehended by Border Patrol in California in October 2023 but released.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Joshua DeWitte, a former private school music teacher from Cambridge, and Christopher Allan Tisoy, a Filipino national, on charges related to producing videos depicting sexual exploitation of minor boys in the Philippines. Both defendants face charges of sexual exploitation of minors with a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment.
