INTERVIEW – MARY LOU MCDONOUGH – director of the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections
- Two teenagers charged in the death of a 14-year-old Maryland girl were arrested by Prince George’s County police in another case last year and should have been detained, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- Corrections Says ICE Failed to Provide Warrant to Hold Gang Members Now Accused in Maryland Girl’s Death. The Prince George’s County Department of Corrections is defending itself after federal immigration agents blamed it for releasing two suspected gang members last year, giving them the opportunity to kill a 14-year-old girl in April. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Josue Fuentes-Ponce, 16, and Joel Escobar, 17, were in the country illegally when they were arrested May 11, 2018, on several charges, including attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and participation in gang activity, ICE said. They were released on an unknown date despite an ICE detainer, according to ICE. But after working their way through the justice system, a judge said it was against the law to do anything other than release them. “It’s basically a violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution to hold someone without due process and a warrant,” Prince George’s County Department of Corrections Director Mary Lou McDonough said. She said ICE detainment requests are civil requests and not actual warrants.
