EXCLUSIVE: The two men arrested in an atrocious North Carolina home invasion last week have been identified as criminal illegal aliens from Mexico who allegedly terrorized a male victim by sodomizing and beating him and ripping out his fingernails, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
The overnight ambush, which Pitt County authorities said involved at least three male suspects, occurred in a quiet Greenville suburb last Wednesday.
“Two heinous criminals broke into the victim’s home and used a sharp, edged weapon and restrained him against his will,” DHS said, citing local outlet Reflector.
“This is a real-life nightmare. Burglarizing, kidnapping, assaulting, and sodomizing, and ripping off the fingernails of an innocent victim are extremely wicked and heinous,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin added in a statement.
The two undocumented immigrants were identified as 21-year-old Chapel Hill resident Zaid Mayen and 20-year-old Jonathan David Garcia-Larios, a homeless man who was previously deported from the U.S. in 2024. They were arrested last Friday with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals and local law enforcement.
Authorities noted that the suspects entered the U.S. at an unknown date and time.
DHS added that the “two sexual perverts and violent thugs” unleashed a series of horrific attacks despite having no known criminal record in the U.S.
“Zaid Mayen-Esteban and Jonathan David Garcia-Larios should have never been in this country. Prior to this heinous act, these illegal aliens had no criminal record in the U.S,” McLaughlin said.
“Under Secretary Noem’s leadership we are not waiting for illegal aliens to commit crimes before we target them for arrest and removal. We pray for the continued recovery of this innocent victim.”
The unnamed victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of injuries and “thankfully survived,” DHS said.
The agency added that federal law enforcement is “protecting American communities every day from another senseless tragedy like this taking place in another town, to another family.”
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also issued arrest detainers for the two illegal immigrants, instructing local authorities to extend their custody, allowing federal agents to assume control.
The third suspect arrested was identified as 22-year-old John Carlos Calderon, whose immigration status is still under investigation, local authorities said.
All three suspects face the same first-degree felony charges, including forcible sexual assault, kidnapping, burglary, and the use of a deadly weapon with intent to kill causing serious injury.
Garcia-Larios remains held without bond at the Pitt County Detention Center, while Mayen was booked into the Orange County Detention Center, also without bond.
Calderon, who was arrested Monday, is being held without bond at the Pitt County Detention Center alongside Garcia-Larios.
Federal authorities emphasized that victims of “illegal alien crime” may receive support from the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office by contacting 1-855-488-6423.
