A convicted double-killer from El Salvador has been arrested in New Jersey on a charge of “illegally reentering the United States,” prosecutors said.
César Eliseo Sorto-Amaya was taken into custody by federal authorities in Elizabeth on Friday, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey.
The 28-year-old suspect also has a history of at least three previous deportations from the United States.
Sorto-Amaya was convicted in absentia on April 24, 2024, and sentenced to 50 years in prison.
While it’s unclear when Sorto-Amaya returned to the United States, El Salvadoran authorities reached out to ICE last month, alerting them to his likely whereabouts and the homicide conviction.
ICE agents found him sitting on the front porch of a home at an address provided by El Salvadoran law enforcement, who said he has a prison cell waiting for the double aggravated homicide.
Sorto-Amaya, 28, was charged today by complaint with illegally reentering the United States and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge José R. Almonte in Newark federal Court.
According to documents filed in this case, public statements and statements made in court:
Since 2015, Sorto-Amaya was deported from and illegally returned to the United States three separate times, including one time where he was deported after being convicted of weapons possession charges in Elizabeth.
On April 24, 2024, Sorto-Amaya was convicted in abstentia in El Salvador of double aggravated homicide and sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ricky Patel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations, under the direction of Field Office Director John Tsoukaris, and law enforcement authorities in El Salvador, with the investigation.