An illegal immigrant who had already been ordered deported escaped from a Virginia correctional center using bed linens and went on the run for five days.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on Monday that Dennis Arnoldo Zeledon Hernandez received a year and six months in prison for his daring escape from the Bowling Green detention facility on July 2, 2023.
The Salvadoran migrant was taken into custody by ICE after being arrested in York, Virginia, on May 14, 2023, for DUI, carrying a hidden weapon, and child maltreatment.
According to the agency, he left a building at the Caroline Detention Facility, raced across a field, scaled a fence with the sheets, and climbed onto a roof. He then jumped to the ground and hid in the bushes, the agency said.
Zeledon spent two or three days on the run until encountering a Spanish-speaking man outside a restaurant who let him use his phone to call a friend. That pal promised to pick him up and drive him to North Carolina.
Following a multi-agency manhunt, US Marshals apprehended him on July 7, 2023, at an apartment complex in Durham.
In 2016, Zeledon crossed the border, ICE detained him, and a judge granted his bond, allowing him to enter the country.
However, he failed to appear in court for his next hearing in 2019, and a judge ordered his expulsion from the United States.
But he never left.
Zeledon received a sentence earlier this month for impeding an agency proceeding.
According to Liana Castano, Director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, DC Field Office, the arrest “highlights the critical importance of cooperation between law enforcement agencies to ensure public safety and uphold the integrity of our immigration system.”
“Apprehending noncitizens who attempt to evade lawful custody is a priority, as it reinforces our commitment to enforcing the law and protecting our communities,” Castano said.