Arrest warrant served on man illegally in U.S. in Berkeley County murder case
A man who was living in the U.S. illegally has been served an arrest warrant for murder in the case of a body found after a fire was extinguished May 6 in a field outside Martinsburg, according to the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office.
David Antonio Calderon, 46, who is from El Salvador, was served an arrest warrant in the murder case while he is in Frederick County, Va. Calderon was arrested and being held there on malicious assault warrants out of Jefferson County, W.Va., according to an update released Monday by the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office.
Calderon was stopped in March 2023 at the New York/Canadian border, where he sought asylum in Canada, the release states. Canadian asylum was denied and Calderon was turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Customs and Border Protection released Calderon, who was given a notice to appear in May 2024 reportedly due to a lack of available beds, the release states.
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The Herald-Mail has reached out to Customs and Border Protection with a request for comment.
Investigators are awaiting positive identification of the victim using DNA analysis.
But there is surveillance video of Calderon and his vehicle in the same area and time as the GPS tracking unit for a female missing from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office's home confinement program, according to the release.
The body was found the night of Monday, May 6, after firefighters put out a fire in a field off Golf Course Road outside city limits. Berkeley County 911 received a call around 7:29 p.m. Monday for the fire.
Golf Course Road runs east of Martinsburg and continues southeast.
The 911 calls were for reports of a couch on fire in the 100 block of Golf Course Road, according to the latest update from the sheriff's office.
Investigators notified a newly formed multi-agency Crime Scene Unit, whose deputies responded along with West Virginia State Police, the release states.
Jefferson County Sheriff's officials later contacted investigators about the female missing from the home confinement program. Investigators from both sheriff departments worked together to track where the female had gone, the release states.
Investigators also developed a suspect and suspect vehicle, learning Calderon had warrants in Jefferson County from April 10 and April 24 assaults, the release states.
Calderon was arrested May 8 in Frederick County, Va., on the Jefferson County warrants. He was in the suspect vehicle, with investigators getting a search warrant for that vehicle.
Calderon was awaiting extradition back to West Virginia for the murder and assault charges.
The Berkeley County Sheriff's Office listed several agencies its officials wish to thank for their help in this investigation. Those include ones mentioned above as well as the Eastern Panhandle Violent Crime and Drug Task Force, the FBI, the West Virginia and Loudoun County, Va., fire marshal's offices, Baker Heights Volunteer Fire Department, Customs and Border Protection, the Martinsburg Police Department, the Frederick County (Va.) Sheriff's Office, the Middletown (Va.) Police Department, the West Virginia Fusion Center, U.S. Capitol Police, the West Virginia medical examiner's office and the prosecuting attorneys offices for Berkeley and Jefferson counties.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Man illegally in U.S. served warrant in West Virginia murder case
