Alleged MS-13 Gang Member Arrested in Pensacola

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – David Ernesto Nolasco Soriano, 31, of El Salvador, made a first appearance and had a detention hearing on Friday, February 22, 2019, in Pensacola in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.  United States Attorney Lawrence Keefe of the Northern District of Florida made the announcement.

Nolasco Soriano was a fugitive who was located in Pensacola and arrested on February 20 at 3:10 p.m. near the Cordova Mall by the FBI and the Pensacola Police Department.  Nolasco Soriano was working in Pensacola and Destin and has a Pensacola mailing address.  United States Magistrate Judge Charles J. Kahn Jr. detained Nolasco Soriano and ordered the U.S. Marshals to transport him back to Maryland to await trial.  Assistant United States Attorney and Border Security Coordinator James M. Ustynoski handled the detention hearing in the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Keefe said: “This case is an example of law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces throughout the nation working together to dismantle dangerous gangs.  My office is committed to pursuing a safer North Florida, Maryland, and all communities in between.”

Assistant United States Attorney Kenneth S. Clark in the District of Maryland is prosecuting the case.  The District of Maryland charged Nolasco Soriano with:

    Conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise;

    Conspiracy to murder, maim, assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering; and

    Attempted murder, maiming, and assault with a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website.  For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.