Overview
- Fairfax County police arrested 23-year-old Marvin Morales-Ortez after a man, identified as 40-year-old Marvin Ernesto Morales, was fatally shot in a Reston home.
- He had been released the previous day when prosecutors dropped an assault and gun-brandishing case, citing the victim’s decision to leave the country and not cooperate.
- ICE said it had lodged a detainer for Morales-Ortez, while county officials said he was released after the charges were dismissed because ICE did not present a judicial warrant.
- DHS and ICE issued sharp public statements criticizing Fairfax County’s approach to detainers, asserting the killing could have been prevented.
- Police said a clinician obtained an eight-hour Emergency Custody Order for Morales-Ortez after his release but officers could not find him before it expired; DHS says he entered the U.S. illegally in 2016, his immigration case was dismissed in 2022, and he has a history of local charges including a 2021 murder count later dropped.