A suspected MS-13 gang member with a violent criminal background has been apprehended in Nashville, Tennessee, after a year on the run, authorities said.

According to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), Leonel Vargas Jr., 24, was detained on Wednesday afternoon.

According to Davidson County jail records, he has been charged with felony aggravated assault by strangulation, felony aggravated burglary, felony probation violation, misdemeanour domestic violence, and two instances of misdemeanour property theft.

He is not eligible for a bond.

The surveillance that led to Vargas’ arrest was organised by MNPD Specialised Investigations Division (SID) officers and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) agents, who had been investigating Vargas’ ties to the ultra-violent Salvadoran MS-13 gang.

The ATF confirmed to Fox News Digital that its investigation into Vargas’ MS-13 ties is ongoing.

Vargas has a significant criminal history that dates back to 2019.

In that year, he was charged with aggravated assault by strangling, two counts of domestic assault resulting in bodily injury, and one act of domestic assault with fear of bodily harm. He was sentenced to probation for these charges.

In 2022, he breached his probation and was sentenced to one year in prison and another year of supervised release. In the same year, a 2021 case of felony escaping arrest by motor vehicle and reckless endangerment was reopened.

He was found guilty of those crimes in 2023 and sentenced to two years of supervised release.

Last year, he was charged with felony domestic violent assault, burglary, and theft, and he evaded arrest until Wednesday.

Earlier this week, FBI Director Kash Patel announced a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of MS-13’s leader in Honduras, Yulan Adonay Archaga Carías.

In the United States, the gang has recently made headlines after one of its suspected members, illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, was deported to El Salvador.