Crash reveals driver is MS-13 member accused of homicide, kidnapping, NC cops say

A man who gave five fake names to deputies at the scene of a car crash has been identified as a “transnational” MS-13 gang member wanted for homicide, kidnapping and drug trafficking in El Salvador, according to investigators in North Carolina.

Fingerprints ultimately confirmed the identity of 30-year-old Jonathon Josue Ayala Melendez, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said in a Feb. 19 news release.

He was arrested Wednesday after being involved in a multi-vehicle crash with injuries on U.S. 1 in southern Lee County, officials said. Lee County is about a 45-mile drive southwest from downtown Raleigh.

“Troopers and deputies encountered the male operator of one of the vehicles, who provided not one, but five different variations of his name to responding authorities,” the sheriff’s office said.

“After being unable to locate any of the provided names — or any variation of those names — matching the date of birth he supplied, the unidentified male was detained and transported to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for further investigation. ... After being fingerprinted, a return on those prints confirmed his identity.”

U.S. Homeland Security Investigations was consulted, and that call resulted in the Federal Bureau of Investigation contacting the sheriff’s office, officials said.

“U.S. authorities had been searching for Ayala Melendez for some time. It took this encounter and subsequent fingerprint identification to uncover his identity,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Ayala Melendez of El Salvador is wanted for kidnapping, drug trafficking, and homicide/attempted homicide in El Salvador. He has also been identified as a transnational member of the criminal gang MS-13.”

His list of charges now includes resisting, delaying, and obstructing an officer and identity theft in Lee County, officials said.

Ayala Melendez remains in custody of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office without bond and the Department of Homeland Security has issued an immigration detainer in his case, officials said.

The U.S. Department of Justice says MS-13 “is well-organized and is heavily involved in lucrative illegal enterprises, being notorious for its use of violence to achieve its objectives.”

This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 8:02 AM with the headline "Crash reveals driver is MS-13 member accused of homicide, kidnapping, NC cops say."