Illegal immigrant from El Salvador charged in fatal carjacking of Virginia grandmother

The suspect who was arrested for the fatal carjacking of a grandmother in Virginia has been identified by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as an illegal immigrant from El Salvador. ICE confirmed the suspect's identity as Jose Aguilar-Martinez, 21, and the agency has placed a detainer request on him to be handed over from local to federal authorities.

Aguilar-Martinez allegedly carjacked 54-year-old Melody Waldecker in Sterling, Virginia, on Sunday in broad daylight. After carjacking her, he ran her over with her own car, killing her, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. Police found Waldecker dead at the scene, and Aguilar-Martinez was arrested approximately 45 minutes later.

Aguilar-Martinez has been charged with felony carjacking and is expected to face additional charges related to the incident. He is currently held at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center without bail.

As part of so-called “sanctuary city” initiatives, many city officials will often decline to hand over illegal immigrants charged with a crime when ICE places a detainer request. However, Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman has been a vocal advocate of honoring detainers. ICE has been able to deport nearly 100 illegal immigrants from Loudon County in just the past two years.

It remains unclear when Aguilar-Martinez entered the United States, but he is referred to as a "gotaway," meaning he had never been previously apprehended by Border Patrol.

This revelation comes amidst historic levels of illegal immigration over the past four years. During the Biden administration, over 8 million illegal immigrants have entered the country. About 1.7 million of these migrants are classified as “gotaways,” according to data from Customs and Border Protection.