FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — A federal grand jury has indicted a man whose encounter with Fairfax County police during an October 2025 traffic stop later became part of an illegal reentry investigation, according to federal court records.
Angel Mauricio Ortiz-Torres was cited Oct. 27, 2025, for failing to have a vehicle inspected and for a seat belt violation, Fairfax County General District Court records show. Both infractions were prepaid in January. He paid a $30 fine and $67 in costs for the inspection violation and a $25 fine for the seat belt violation.
An affidavit filed in U.S. District Court alleges that body camera footage from the traffic stop showed Ortiz-Torres driving the vehicle. The driver presented a New York license bearing his name and a birth date connected to his FBI identification number, according to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officer.
ICE agents encountered Ortiz-Torres in Fairfax County on July 3 and arrested him on an administrative immigration matter, the affidavit alleges. Fingerprints taken after that arrest were associated with the same FBI number connected to the person shown in the police footage, according to the officer.
Federal investigators allege Ortiz-Torres is a citizen of El Salvador who had previously been removed from the United States three times: in April 2018, October 2018 and January 2020.
His immigration file contained no evidence that he received permission from the U.S. attorney general or the secretary of homeland security to reenter the country following his most recent removal, the affidavit alleges.
The officer also alleged that Ortiz-Torres had two previous federal felony convictions for illegal reentry. He was sentenced to 144 days in prison in the District of Arizona in 2018 and 10 months in prison in the Southern District of Texas in 2019, according to the affidavit.
A magistrate judge found probable cause during a July 10 preliminary hearing. Ortiz-Torres did not contest detention at that time and was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, according to the federal court docket.
The court appointed federal public defender Cadence Mertz to represent him.
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The grand jury returned a one-count indictment Thursday alleging that Ortiz-Torres was found in or near Fairfax County after having been removed from the United States in January 2020 following a felony conviction.
The indictment charges him with illegal reentry after removal subsequent to a felony conviction under federal law. An indictment is an allegation and does not establish guilt.
An arraignment is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, before U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in Alexandria.
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