Originally from El Salvador, David Argueta Marquez, 29, is a resident of Lyburn, Logan County, West Virginia, United States. He is under investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Argueta worked for a tree-cutting company in Kimper, Pike County, Kentucky, USA. Lyburn is around 63 miles away from Kimper.
David Argueta
Argueta is an alleged member of the 18th Street Gang in El Salvador. While still working in Kimper, he was wanted out of Harris County, Texas, USA for aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault of a child.
On November 22, 2022, Argueta and three other people allegedly kidnapped a girl, then 16, at gunpoint in Harris County and sexually assaulted her. Whether or not the three other suspects are also 18th Street Gang members has yet to be confirmed.
At around 2:30 p.m. on May 7, 2025, Argueta was arrested at a job site in Kimper by members of the Central Kentucky Fugitive Task Force and the Cops United Felony Fugitive Enforcement Division (CUFFED) Task Force of the U.S. Marshals Service. He will be extradited back to Texas.
The Kentucky State Police helped the U.S. Marshals in investigating Argueta. The police department of Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia and the respective sheriffs of Logan County and West Virginia’s Mingo County, Jackson County, Putnam County and Mason County also participated.
18th Street Gang
The 18th Street Gang started as a Mexican American gang. It evenintually became Central American as it started to recruit more members of other ethnic groups.
Members of the gang were arrested in the U.S. and deported back to Central America. This led to the spread of the gang to other countries including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
In 2005, a faction called the Revolucionarios split off the 18th Street Gang in El Salvador. They became rivals with the other members known as the Sureños.
CONAN Daily 