Latest & Breaking News on Fox News
· collected 2026-09-06 · by Stepheny Price
David Antonio Aviles Perez, a 35-year-old MS-13 gang member known as "the witch," has been released from federal custody in California after a judge ordered his immediate release due to alleged violations of his Fifth Amendment rights. U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta made the ruling on August 26, nearly five months after Aviles Perez's arrest by ICE agents in San Diego. Aviles Perez was being held pending removal to El Salvador, where he is wanted for a 2014 murder conviction and additional charges of machete-wielding assault. The Trump administration has condemned the release, with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin accusing the judge of putting American lives at risk.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
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.
asserted
judge → convict → administration
U.S. 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 determining whether he posed a danger to the public or a flight risk.
asserted
he → order → public
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.
asserted
Mullin → accuse → release
"This radical activist judge has put American lives at risk by releasing a wanted murderer," Mullin said in a statement Saturday.
asserted
Mullin → put → statement
"This is now the SECOND time this dangerous illegal has been released back onto the streets in California," he added.
asserted
he → release → California
"Because sanctuary politicians want to play politics from the bench, innocent Americans are in danger."
asserted
Americans → want → danger
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.
asserted
proceedings → center → immigrants
Alvise Perez, 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.
asserted
Perez → identify → murder
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.
asserted
members → say → victim
The victim was held by the shoulders as Aviles Perez and his accomplice approached, prosecutors said.
asserted
prosecutors → hold → shoulders
The gang members then shot the man in the chest, back and face before fleeing.
asserted
members → shoot → chest
Both defendants were tried and convicted while outside the country.
asserted
defendants → try → country
Aviles Perez entered the U.S. at an unknown date and location, according to DHS.
uncertain
Perez → enter → 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.
uncertain
He → arrest → Beach
He allegedly hid the weapon before officers recovered it from a nearby Holiday Inn parking lot.
uncertain
officers → hide → lot
Aviles Perez was charged and convicted after the incident but later released from custody.
asserted
Perez → charge → custody
DHS blamed California’s sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local authorities and federal immigration officials.
asserted
which → blame → authorities
ICE agents arrested him again in San Diego on March 26 and took him into custody pending his removal to El Salvador.
asserted
agents → arrest → Salvador
He was held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center pending removal to El Salvador until Ohta ordered his immediate release Aug. 26, federal court records show.
asserted
records → hold → release
After nearly five months in immigration custody, Aviles Perez filed a petition challenging his detention and seeking his immediate release.
asserted
Perez → file → release
Ohta ruled that immigration officials violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights by holding him without an individualized assessment of whether he was dangerous or likely to flee.
asserted
he → rule → assessment
"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," Ohta wrote.
uncertain
Ohta → appear → public
The judge said federal officials gave Aviles Perez "no process before or after his detention" and had not shown that providing a hearing would place an undue burden on the government.
asserted
providing → say → government
Ohta ordered his immediate release and barred ICE from detaining him again unless an immigration judge first holds a bond hearing and determines that renewed detention is warranted.
asserted
detention → order → hearing
A status report was filed in the case Aug. 27, one day after the release order.
asserted
report → file → order
DHS said Aviles Perez was subsequently released from federal custody.
asserted
Perez → say → custody
The ruling did not clear Aviles Perez of wrongdoing or find that he posed no danger.
asserted
he → clear → danger
It focused on whether immigration officials followed the required process to justify keeping him detained.
asserted
officials → focus → him
California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Ohta to the San Diego County Superior Court in December 2020, according to the governor’s office.
uncertain
Newsom → appoint → office
President Joe Biden nominated her to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in September 2021.
asserted
Biden → nominate → September
The Senate confirmed her that December, and her judicial commission was issued later that month, according to the Federal Judicial Center.
uncertain
commission → confirm → Center
Mullin vowed that the ruling would not derail the administration’s immigration crackdown.
asserted
ruling → vow → crackdown
"DHS and ICE will not be deterred by these partisan games," he said.
asserted
he → deter → games
"If California’s leaders won’t protect Americans, DHS will."
asserted
DHS → protect → Americans
Fox News Digital reached out to Ohta's office for additional comment and confirmation surrounding Aviles Perez’s release.
asserted
Digital → reach → release
