A Salvadoran national, Dennis Arnoldo Zeledon Hernandez, has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison for obstructing an agency proceeding. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber and Liana Castano, Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Washington, D.C., following the sentencing by U.S. District Judge Roderick C. Young.
According to court documents, Zeledon was initially encountered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials at the U.S.-Mexico border near Hidalgo, Texas, in July 2016. He expressed fear of gang members in El Salvador and was served with a Notice to Appear. An Immigration Judge later released him on bond in September 2016.
In May 2018, Zeledon received a Notice of Hearing from the Immigration Court for his master hearing scheduled on December 9, 2019, in Arlington, Virginia. Despite being informed via mail and phone hotline about the hearing details, he failed to appear. Consequently, the Immigration Court ordered his removal in absentia.
Zeledon was arrested again on May 14, 2023, in York, Virginia for driving under the influence among other charges. Following this arrest notice reached ICE officials who issued a Warrant of Removal leading to his transfer to Caroline Detention Facility (CDF) in Bowling Green, Virginia.
On July 2, 2023, Zeledon managed an escape from CDF using tied sheets as a makeshift rope to scale a fence and reach nearby woods after jumping off a roof into a public parking lot.
Following his escape from custody over 100 law enforcement personnel were involved in the search operation which concluded with Zeledon's arrest by members of the U.S. Marshals Task Force on July 7 at an apartment complex in Durham North Carolina.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Day along with former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike C. Moore.
Further information related to this case can be found on the website of the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia or through PACER using Case No: 3:23-cr-122.