The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer on Saul Morales-Garcia. He is charged with second-degree attempted murder against John A. Sarcone III, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York. The incident occurred earlier this week when Morales-Garcia allegedly lunged at Sarcone with a knife while shouting in a foreign language.
Saul Morales-Garcia was arrested by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office on June 17. He faces charges of attempted murder in the second degree, menacing with a weapon, and criminal possession of a weapon.
Morales-Garcia is identified as a serial criminal illegal alien from El Salvador who has committed various crimes across Georgia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York. Previously deported on April 20, 2010, Homeland Security Investigations in Albany plans to pursue a criminal complaint against him for illegal re-entry into the United States.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated: “On June 17, this illegal alien from El Salvador allegedly threatened a sitting U.S. Attorney from the Northern District of New York with a knife. The alien in question illegally entered our country twice, was deported, returned, and has since been committing crimes across the country.” She emphasized that under President Trump and Secretary Noem's administration, ICE is focused on removing "the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens" from American communities.
In 2009, Morales-Garcia faced felony grand larceny charges in Arlington, Virginia. He was later convicted of misdemeanor petit larceny and sentenced to 12 months incarceration. In 2010, after being encountered by ICE at Arlington County Jail due to theft charges, he was ordered removed from the U.S., which led to his deportation.
Morales-Garcia re-entered the United States between April 21, 2010, and December 10, 2021—an entry not inspected or authorized by immigration officials.
His criminal record continued with arrests for DWI by Monroe County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia in 2021; disorderly conduct by U.S. Parks Police in 2023; and misdemeanor retail theft by Upper Marion Police in Pennsylvania in 2024.
