High-ranking MS-13 gang member captured
By WXII News Staff
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WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (WXII) — A member of a prominent gang has been arrested in the Triad, according to the U.S. Marshal Service.
Authorities said they arrested a high-ranking MS-13 gang member, Josue Zepeda Padilla, in Winston-Salem on Wednesday morning.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, he is a high-ranking MS-13 gang member from Long Island, New York.
According to Catrina Thompson, the U.S. Marshal from the Middle District of North Carolina, authorities in Suffolk County, New York put out warrants for Zapata Padilla in January 2024 for first-degree gang assault and second-degree kidnapping.
Authorities tracked him to North Carolina and then eventually to Winston-Salem.
On Wednesday, several U.S. Marshal branches, the Winston-Salem Police Department, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended Zapata Padilla on Gilmer Avenue.
Thompson said ICE was involved because he was in the U.S. illegally. He had previously been deported.
Officials said that when they arrived, Zapata Padilla refused to comply with their commands and attempted to escape through the attic of the home he was staying in.
That attempt failed when he fell through the ceiling of a connected home, where a family, including children, was home.
It is not yet clear why Zapata Padilla was in Winston-Salem.
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