Dennis Zeledon Hernandez, the Salvadorian man who escaped from Caroline Detention Facility (CDF), was sentenced last Wednesday. But he’s adding to his lengthy legal tennis match with the federal government by filing an appeal.
Early years in U.S.
Court records show Zeledon Hernandez has a history with the feds that dates back to July 2016 when ICE officials found him near the border in Hidalgo, TX. At that time, he claimed to fear gang members in El Salvador. An asylum officer found he demonstrated credible fear of persecution, and he was served with a Notice to Appear that warned that failure to appear may result in a removal order and arrest, the records state.
After several months in ICE detention, Zeledon Hernandez was ordered to be released on bond. Court records show, a month later, in October 2016, he filed a change of venue to have his proceedings moved to Virginia, and he provided a Williamsburg location as his address.
In May 2018, the Immigration Court sent Zeldon Hernandez a notice that his master hearing would be in December 2019 in Arlington. And according to court documents, authorities know he was aware of the date because he called an Immigration Court hotline that informed him of the date, time, and location. Yet, he failed to appear.
Zeledon was Hernandez would spend the next several years as a fugitive subject to a removal order. “At no point during this period did Mr. Zeledon seek relief from or contact the Immigration Court or ICE,” court documents state.
Fugitive caught
In May 2023, Zeledon Hernandez was arrested in York County for DUI, carrying a concealed weapon, and child neglect. A Warrant of Removal was issued, and he was transferred to CDF.
About a week later, on the day he was scheduled to be transferred to Alexandria, LA to a facility where ICE detainees are taken before deportation, he hired an attorney, court documents note. His attorney informed ICE he planned to seek emergency relief from the Immigration Court, so ICE officials agreed to delay Zeledon’s transfer to Louisiana “as a courtesy.”
But a week passed, and the attorney didn’t file the motion, documents show. So, ICE officials flew Zeledon Hernandez to Louisiana. But later that day, the attorney filed an emergency motion arguing that the removal order was defective because Zeledon Hernandez didn’t receive proper notice of his master hearing. That prompted ICE to return him back to CDF in Bowling Green on June 6, 2023.
The court ultimately denied his Emergency Motion to Reopen, and he had 30 days to appeal. But meanwhile, dates were set for him to be transferred back to Louisiana and to be deported to El Salvador. Court documents show Zeledon Hernandez didn’t appeal. But on the day before he was scheduled to be sent to Louisiana, he escaped from CDF.
The escape from CDF
The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia proved that, on July 2, 2023, Zeledon exited a CDF building, ran across a field, scaled a fence using sheets tied like a rope, and climbed onto the roof of CDF’s Administration Building. He ran across the roof to a side facing a public parking lot, jumped to the ground, and ran across the parking lot into the nearby woods.
The prosecution proved Zeledon-Hernandez was walked for two or three days until he met a Spanish-speaking man in a parking lot who allowed him to use his cell phone. Zeledon-Hernandez called a friend in North Carolina who agreed to pick him, court documents state.
On July 7, 2023, members of the U.S. Marshals Task Force arrested Zeledon at an apartment complex in Durham, NC.
Over 100 members of law enforcement, including state, local, and federal officials, participated in the fugitive search, reported the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Zeledon was charged with obstruction of agency proceedings and escape. But through more legal maneuvers, he was found not guilty of escape.
Last week, on Dec 4, he was sentenced to 18 months. That’s to be followed by 3 years of supervised probation. As a condition of the probation, he’s to be surrendered to ICE for a deportation review. Today, he filed a notice appealing this judgement.
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