Suspected MS-13 gang member arrested in Las Vegas on murder charge

A suspected gang member accused of murder in Central America was arrested in Las Vegas earlier this month, officials announced Tuesday.

Noe Victelio Rivera-Batres, 50, was taken into custody March 3 by Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in connection with a 2015 murder in El Salvador, according to a news release from ICE.

Rivera-Batres was initially arrested in June 2018 by U.S. Border Patrol in Texas and later convicted of illegally entering the U.S., according to the release. He was sentenced to time served, then placed in ICE custody and released after posting bail.

In 2019, a court in El Salvador issued a warrant for Rivera-Batres on charges related to his suspected association with MS-13 and murder. The El Salvadorian native is suspected of participating in a murder that happened in a cemetery in Ozatlán, El Salvador on Oct. 31, 2015, officials said.

The International Criminal Police Organization, or INTERPOL, then issued a notice for Rivera-Batres on the same charges.

After the notice, a custody redetermination was made for Rivera-Batres, who was required to surrender to ICE on Feb. 10. He was arrested after failing to turn himself in, according to the release.

Rivera-Batres was was expected to remain in ICE custody after his arrest until his deportation to El Salvador, where ICE officials said he faces up to 50 years in prison.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.