U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued detainers for three individuals accused of murdering a 14-year-old boy in College Park, Maryland. The suspects, Alam Josai Garcia Padilla, Jose Vladimir Merlos-Majano, and William Ariel Cuellar Guiterrez, are described as criminal illegal aliens from El Salvador and alleged members of the MS-13 gang. All three face murder charges.
Local authorities discovered human remains in Indian Creek Stream Valley Park during a search. The remains were identified as those of Jefferson Amaya-Ayala, age 14. Investigators believe the victim was lured to the park and killed on August 2, 2025.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented on the case: “This heinous murder of a child by MS-13 gang members is reprehensible. This murder was completely preventable. All three of these gang members had prior run ins with law enforcement. ICE should have been notified following their arrests,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Joe Biden and sanctuary politicians allowed gang members to terrorize our communities and RELEASED them from jails following their arrests. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we’ve already arrested 7,000 gang members.”
According to information provided by ICE, all three suspects had previous encounters with law enforcement in Washington, D.C., but were released after their arrests:
- Alam Josai Garcia Padilla was previously convicted of attempted unlawful possession of ammunition by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He also possessed fraudulent documents such as a lawful permanent resident card and social security card.
- Jose Vladimir Merlos-Majano was previously arrested for defacing public property and possession of a prohibited weapon after being caught spray painting MS-13 symbols on houses.
- William Ariel Cuellar Guiterrez faced previous arrests for offenses including possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, unregistered firearm possession, carrying a pistol without a license—including in a gun-free zone—and unregistered ammunition.
A fourth suspect in the case is reported to be 17 years old and also faces charges.
