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. ICE agents found him sitting on the front porch of a home at an address provided by law enforcement in El Salvador, where he’s wanted on charges of double aggravated homicide.
Sorto-Amaya was convicted in absentia on April 24, 2024 and sentenced to 50 years in prison. No other information, including specific details about the crime, was provided.
The 28-year-old suspect also has a long history of deportations that dates all the way back to 2015. In February of that year, he was arrested by border agents in Texas and sent back to El Salvador on March 3, 2015, according to the criminal complaint.
Sorto-Amaya was again deported after he crossed paths with ICE in October 2016. He was behind bars in Elizabeth at the time and was eventually convicted of unlawful possession of a weapon. However, he was shipped home before he could be sentenced, per the criminal complaint.
He was arrested again the following year and sent back to El Salvador for a third time on Aug. 26, 2017.
While it’s unclear when Sorto-Amaya returned to the United States, El Salvadoran authorities reached out to ICE last month, alerting them on Feb. 12 to his potential presence and recent conviction, according to the criminal complaint.
Sorto-Amaya made his initial court appearance in Newark on Friday, though it’s not clear what action, if any, was taken.
