Man Convicted of Manslaughter Illegally Re-Entered U.S.: Feds

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY - An MS-13 gang member who was deported after serving a prison sentence for killing a man outside a Long Island deli illegally re-entered the United States, federal authorities said Tuesday.

Following his arrest in Huntington Tuesday, William Umberto Martinez Chavez made his initial appearance in a Central Islip court before United States Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen Tomlinson, where he was ordered detained, according to U.S. attorney Richard P. Donoghue.

Martinez Chavez, a Salvadoran national, was deported from the United States in October 2017, after having been convicted and served a sentence for manslaughter in connection with a May 2000 stabbing in Huntington, Donoghue said.

"This office is firmly committed to prosecuting criminals who illegally reenter the United States, especially MS-13 gang members who break into the country after deportations resulting from violent crime convictions," he said.

Martinez Chavez stabbed the victim, severing his aorta and causing his death.

The 40-year-old admitted to previously being a member of the MS-13 gang and still has MS-13 tattoos on his abdomen and on his chest, authorities said.

If convicted, Martinez Chavez faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

"Martinez Chavez is a known MS-13 gang member who was convicted of manslaughter, served his time and was removed from the United States, only to resurface on the same streets after having entered illegally," Immigration and Customer Enforcement Field Office Director Thomas Decker said.