RESTON, VA — A man identified in Virginia court records as a Reston resident is facing a federal illegal reentry case after authorities said he returned to the United States following his removal from the country and a prior felony conviction.
Christian Castellanos-Lopez, a citizen of Honduras, is charged by criminal complaint in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia with illegal reentry after removal subsequent to a felony conviction, according to federal court records.
Federal authorities said Castellanos-Lopez was formally removed from the United States on June 2, 2023, near Alexandria, Louisiana. An ICE deportation officer in Fairfax County said immigration records showed no evidence that Castellanos-Lopez subsequently received legal authorization to reenter or remain in the United States.
Authorities said Castellanos-Lopez later came to the attention of ICE after he was arrested in Fairfax County. According to the federal affidavit, ICE learned around June 1, 2024, that he had been arrested and detained at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. His fingerprints were checked against an FBI database and matched records associated with Castellanos-Lopez, the affidavit said.
The federal complaint is based in part on Castellanos-Lopez's criminal history. ICE records showed that he was convicted around Aug. 25, 2022, of grand larceny in Loudoun County Circuit Court, according to the affidavit. He received a four-year prison sentence, with three years and six months suspended.
The conviction occurred before his June 2023 removal from the United States.
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ICE investigators also obtained a fingerprint card from a June 1, 2024, arrest by the Herndon Police Department and compared it with fingerprints associated with Castellanos-Lopez's 2023 removal. The ICE Homeland Security Investigations Forensic Laboratory determined in March 2026 that the fingerprints matched, according to the federal affidavit.
The affidavit concluded that there was probable cause to believe Castellanos-Lopez was found in Fairfax County on or about June 1, 2024, after having been removed from the United States and without obtaining permission to reapply for admission.
Virginia court records repeatedly identify Castellanos-Lopez as a Reston resident. For example, a Fairfax County General District Court case involving a July 15, 2024, grand larceny charge lists his address as Reston Fairfax cases from that period also list a Reston address.
Those records do not, however, establish that the conduct underlying those state charges occurred in Reston. The federal affidavit likewise places the alleged federal offense generally in Fairfax County and identifies the June 2024 arrest as occurring in Herndon. For that reason, the Reston connection is based on Castellanos-Lopez's listed residence rather than the location of the alleged federal offense.
A federal arrest warrant was issued May 15, and the warrant was executed Aug. 6, court records show. Castellanos-Lopez made his initial appearance that day and was temporarily detained pending another hearing.
At an Aug. 11 detention and preliminary hearing, Castellanos-Lopez waived his preliminary hearing, and a federal magistrate judge found probable cause. Prosecutors sought detention, which Castellanos-Lopez did not contest at that time. He was ordered held without bond pending trial.
The federal docket lists a pre-indictment plea hearing for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga in Alexandria. As of the Sept. 1 docket report, no indictment or other pending federal count was listed beyond the criminal complain.
Several state charges filed against Castellanos-Lopez in Fairfax County have since been dropped or otherwise disposed of. A 2025 Fairfax County grand larceny case, for example, was nolle prossed, meaning prosecutors declined to proceed with the charge.
Records also show several 2024 burglary, larceny and conspiracy charges were nolle prossed, while some burglary cases were certified to a grand jury.
A criminal complaint contains accusations, and Castellanos-Lopez is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
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