ICE let suspect in $100M jewelry heist leave the U.S. proving it was never about catching criminals

A suspect believed to be involved in one of the biggest jewelry heists in America has left the country without facing justice thanks to federal immigration authorities who allowed him to deport himself to South America. Despite many in the Trump administration claiming ICE are simply catching criminals it seems they gave Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, an alleged criminal, exactly what he wanted.

Flores was charged last year along with six other individuals for allegedly following an armored truck in Los Angeles and stealing diamonds and other precious gemstones worth somewhere in the ballpark of $100 million in 2022. Had he gone to trial, Flores was looking at 15 years behind bars should he have been convicted.

Flores pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him. However, thanks to the incompetence of ICE, Flores may well never see the inside of a courtroom, let alone a jail cell.

ICE messes up and Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores walks

Flores was deported by ICE in December of last year. According to an article from The Guardian, the suspected jewel thief had requested a voluntary departure, and it seems the federal agency was more than happy to oblige. No doubt they were more concerned with filling their quota for deportations rather than having an alleged criminal go through the courts and face justice.

Prior to his deportation, Flores, a permanent resident of the U.S., had been released on bail. He was taken into custody by ICE in September despite such a move being a violation of his criminal prosecution rights, his attorney claims that this violation is grounds to have the case dismissed and the case against him dropped. Federal prosecutors were also unaware that he had been taken into ICE custody because, as we all know by now, ICE answers to no one, not even the law itself.

Thanks to the actions of ICE, Flores will now avoid trial, something which has caused much frustration against prosecutors who were working on a case against him.

There is no communication from ICE

Usually, in such cases, immigration authorities are supposed to inform prosecutors what is happening but they simply didn’t in this case. In minor cases the suspect can choose to self deport rather than face potential prosecution. Federal prosecutor Laurie Levenson condemned the actions of ICE in this instance, stating, “This really was the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing.” But this is ICE we’re talking about, the masters of shooting themselves in the foot.

While ICE has yet to comment on the situation, Flores is a free man and out of reach of the prosecutors. While there is still hope for a case against him, it would depend on him returning to the U.S., and that’s assuming his attorney isn’t successful in his bid to get the case dropped.