A routine traffic stop in South Carolina led to the arrest of an MS-13 gang member wanted for murder in El Salvador, exposing the hidden dangers lurking within local communities.
An MS-13 gang member wanted for murder in El Salvador has been found living in Berkeley County, South Carolina. Elmer Neftali Martinez-Escobar, a 31-year-old illegal alien from El Salvador, was arrested on June 29 for simple possession of marijuana following a traffic stop.
A Berkeley County sheriff’s deputy, noticing the smell of marijuana, pulled over Martinez-Escobar. After he admitted to having marijuana, the deputy ran his name through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, discovering that Martinez-Escobar was a member of the MS-13 gang and wanted for murder in El Salvador.
The deputy found eight grams of marijuana in Martinez-Escobar's possession and arrested him. After being booked into Hill-Finklea Detention Center, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents took him into their custody.
“This traffic stop is a great example of our deputies using their training to identify criminal offenders,” Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis told local media. “We never know what a traffic stop will bring, but I trust that our deputies will continue to work hard to keep Berkeley County safe.”
Martinez-Escobar likely crossed the United States-Mexico border as an illegal alien undetected by Border Patrol agents. He remains in ICE custody pending deportation to El Salvador.
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