MS-13 MEMBER PLEADS GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER TO FURTHER RACKETEERING

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Thursday, December 3, 2015

MS-13 Member Pleads Guilty in Violent Racketeering Conspiracy

Defendant Admitted his Participation in MS-13 and Witness Retaliation Murder Conspiracy

A North Plainfield, New Jersey, man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit murder in furtherance of a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey and Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel of the FBI’s Newark, New Jersey, Division.

Jose Romero-Aguirre, aka Conejo, 29, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler of the District of New Jersey, who scheduled sentencing for March 16, 2016.  Romero-Aguirre remains detained pending sentencing.

According to court documents, MS-13 is a national and international gang with branches or “cliques” operating throughout the United States, including in Plainfield, New Jersey.  In connection with his plea, Romero-Aguirre admitted that he was a member of the Plainfield Locos Salvatrucha (PLS) Clique of MS-13 for a period of time continuing through at least August 2011.  Romero-Aguirre admitted that in or around July 2011, MS-13 members began investigating the arrest of several members of the PLS Clique to identify those who had provided police with information on the arrestees, contrary to PLS rules.  Romero-Aguirre admitted that he participated in phone calls with other incarcerated MS-13 members discussing the need to find and kill the witnesses and that he agreed to relay the murder instructions from the incarcerated members to the other MS-13 members.              

Twelve other members and associates of the PLS Clique are scheduled for trial in front of Judge Chesler on Feb. 9, 2016.  The charges include several counts of murder, attempted murder, robbery, extortion, witness retaliation and sexual assault.  

FBI’s Newark Division, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations’ Newark Field Office, the Plainfield Police Department and the Union County, New Jersey, Prosecutor’s Office investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Donnelly and Jamari Buxton of the District of New Jersey and Trial Attorney Kevin L. Rosenberg of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section are prosecuting this case.

THREE MS-13 GANG LEADERS SENTENCED FOR RACKETEERING, RELATED CHARGES FOR MURDERS AND ATTACKS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Three MS-13 Leaders Sentenced for Racketeering and Related Charges for Multiple Murders and Attacks

Twelve Others Have Pleaded Guilty in the Case

Three leaders of MS-13 in Washington, D.C., were sentenced today to federal prison for conspiring to participate in racketeering activity and other charges stemming from their roles in murders, extortion and other violent crimes.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen Jr. of the District of Columbia, Special Agent in Charge Clark E. Settles of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations’ (ICE-HSI) Washington D.C. Field Office and Chief Cathy L. Lanier of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) made the announcement.

Noe Machado-Erazo aka Gallo, 32, of Wheaton, Maryland, was sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years in prison.  Jose Martinez-Amaya, aka Crimen, 28, of Brentwood, Maryland, was sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years in prison.  Yester Ayala, aka Freeway or Daddy Yankee, 24, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 30 years in prison.  Senior U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the District of Columbia imposed the sentences.

“MS-13 is a brutally violent gang that has plagued communities in many parts of this country, including Washington, D.C.,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “The lengthy sentences imposed on the MS-13 leaders convicted in this case reflect the vicious and calculated nature of the murders they committed and the gang they led.”

“This prosecution shows our commitment to purging MS-13’s bloody brand of violence from the District of Columbia,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen.  “These killers brought lawless vengeance to our community and left a 14-year-old boy dead.  These gang members will now have decades in prison to reflect on their heinous crimes.”

“HSI continuously targets transnational gangs that wreak havoc on our American communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Settles.  “Today’s sentences are testament to the strong investigative work of our HSI special agents and the Metropolitan Police Department.”

“The action by the courts today further exemplifies our message to persons engaging in criminal gang activity: you will find no place for your activities here in Washington, D.C.,” said Chief Lanier.  “We will work as long as necessary to ensure this city, and the capital area, are free from the violence and harm gang activity brings into our communities.  The agents, officers, and attorneys have done a tremendous job bringing this case to a successful end.”

In August 2013, following a month-long trial, Machado-Erazo and Martinez-Amaya were found guilty of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity, murder in aid of racketeering and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.  Ayala was found guilty of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity, two counts of murder in aid of racketeering, first-degree premeditated murder and second-degree murder.

MS-13 is a large gang that operates in the United States and Central America.  Members engage in racketeering activity including murder, narcotics distribution, extortion, robberies, obstruction of justice and other crimes.

According to evidence presented at trial, a number of small MS-13 groups, or cliques, operate in the Washington, D.C., area.  The evidence showed that the cliques have frequent contact with MS-13 leadership in El Salvador, and that they act in accordance with the MS-13’s international strictures, including the requirement that members remain unfailingly loyal to the gang.

The evidence presented at trial showed that both Machado-Erazo and Martinez-Amaya were members of the Normandie clique, and that Martinez-Amaya held a leadership position in the group; and that Ayala was a leader of the Sailors, another clique.  The evidence also showed that Machado-Erazo coordinated the activities of local MS-13 cliques.

At trial, the government presented evidence that Ayala helped carry out orders to murder Louis Alberto Membreno-Zelaya, a fellow MS-13 member who had removed his gang tattoos.  Membreno-Zelaya’s body was found on Nov. 6, 2008, in Northwest Washington, D.C.  He had been stabbed at least 20 times.

According to evidence presented at trial, Ayala also participated in the Dec. 12, 2008, murder of 14-year-old Giovanni Sanchez near the Columbia Heights Metro station in Washington D.C.  Giovanni was stabbed 11 times.

The evidence at trial also demonstrated that Machado-Erazo and Martinez-Amaya took part in the killing of Felipe Enriquez, an MS-13 member whose body was found on March 31, 2010, in Montgomery County, Maryland.  The government presented evidence that Enriquez was lured to a remote park where he was fatally shot by Martinez-Amaya.  Evidence presented during the trial showed that Machado-Erazo provided the gun used in the shooting.

The three defendants sentenced today are among numerous individuals charged in a 2010 indictment alleging criminal acts committed between 2008 and 2010 in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and other states, as well as in El Salvador.  Twelve defendants have pleaded guilty to charges in the case.

The case was investigated by ICE-HSI and the MPD.  Assistance was provided by the Montgomery County, Prince George’s County and Riverdale Park, Maryland, Police Departments; the Fairfax County, Virginia, Police Department; the State’s Attorney’s Office of Montgomery County; the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Maryland and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Virginia.  Assistance also was provided by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Laura Gwinn of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nihar Mohanty of the District of Columbia.

U.S. MARSHALS ANNOUNCE CAPTURE OF FOREIGN FUGITIVE, SUSPECTED MS-13 GANG MEMBER

FROM:  U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE 

Contact:  October 01, 2014 Joseph Palmer, Deputy U.S. Marshal

Northern District of California 

USMS Office of Public Affairs 

U.S. Marshals Task Force Nabs Foreign Fugitive

MS-13 Gang Member Wanted for Homicide, Arrested on Immigration Charges

Vallejo, CA – U.S. Marshal Don O’Keefe is proud to announce the arrest of Fermin Aguilar-Agueta, 26, a suspected MS-13 gang member, who is wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide.

Aguilar-Agueta is suspected by Salvadorian authorities of being involved in a drunken altercation between rival gang factions, which resulted in the shooting death of an individual in March 2007. He was formally charged with aggravated homicide in El Salvador in 2009. An Interpol Red Notice was issued by El Salvador in 2013 for Aguilar-Agueta initiating an international manhunt.

On September 22, Aguilar-Agueta was spotted in a vehicle by Concord Police Department officers during a routine traffic stop. Officers gathered information about him, as well as his associates, and forwarded the information to the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, which specializes in the apprehension of domestic and foreign fugitives.

The following day, based on the information from the Concord Police, and in coordination with Deputy U.S. Marshals at Interpol Washington, the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB), in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force in the Bay Area, which consists of several federal, state, and local agencies, to include officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), were able to determine that Aguilar-Agueta was residing illegally in the U.S., and that he had no record of legal entry.

U.S. Marshals Task Force members located the vehicle associated with the traffic stop at the 1200 block of Georgia Street, Vallejo, CA, and established surveillance. Soon after, Aguilar-Agueta was spotted getting into the vehicle. A traffic stop was conducted and he was taken into custody without incident. Aguilar-Agueta is currently in immigration custody pending deportation.

To find more information on fugitives currently being sought by the U.S. Marshals in Northern California, or to submit an anonymous tip on the whereabouts of a fugitive, please visit: http://northerncaliforniamostwanted.org. The U.S. Marshals Service is the primary federal agency charged with conducting fugitive investigations throughout the country. The U.S. Marshals regularly works in concert with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to seek out and arrest violent fugitives and sex offenders, and has established task forces throughout the nation to facilitate the apprehension of fugitives.

MS-13 GANG MEMBERS CONVICTED IN ATLANTA FOR MURDERS AND ATTEMPTED MURDERS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
MS-13 Members Convicted in Atlanta for Murders and Attempted Murders
Gang Wreaked Havoc in Northern Georgia

After a four-week trial, a federal jury has convicted Miguel Alvarado-Linares, Ernesto Escobar, Dimas Alfaro-Granados and Jairo Reyna-Ozuna for committing multiple murders, attempted murders, armed robberies and firearms offenses in Gwinnett and DeKalb Counties.

The convictions were announced today by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Sally Quillian Yates; Brock D. Nicholson, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Atlanta; and Mark F. Giuliano, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office.

Miguel Alvarado-Linares, aka “Joker,” 24, of Norcross, Ga.; Ernesto Escobar, aka “Pink Panther,” 30, of Norcross; Dimas Alfaro-Granados, aka “Toro,” 30, of Duluth, Ga.; and Jairo Reyna-Ozuna, aka “Flaco,” 28, of Norcross, were convicted late yesterday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Georgia.

“These four MS-13 members committed a host of brutal crimes that devastated countless lives in Northern Georgia,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman.  “As a result of the tireless work by the prosecutors and investigators who tackled this case, the defendants will be removed from the streets they have terrorized.”

“These defendants were the leaders of MS-13, an international gang known for its gratuitous murders,” said U.S. Attorney Yates.  “They spread fear throughout the community by killing suspected rival gang members and others who cross their path.  We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect our streets from turning into battlegrounds.”

“The defendants in this case indiscriminately brought murderous violence against rival gang members and innocent civilians alike,” said Brock D. Nicholson, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Atlanta. “HSI is proud to continue to partner with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to target violent transnational gang members who threaten the safety of Atlanta communities.”

“Removing these violent gang members from the streets of metro Atlanta not only makes for a safer community but further weakens the Southeastern U.S. roots of this international criminal enterprise known as MS-13,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark F. Giuliano of the FBI Atlanta Field Office.  “The FBI will continue to work with its various law enforcement partners in targeting this group, and others like them, in a unified and effective manner.”

According to the charges and other information presented in court, MS-13 is an international gang that has operated in the Atlanta area since at least 2005.  During the course of this investigation, which ended in 2010, more than 75 MS-13 members were arrested, charged and/or deported.  MS-13 members were organized into “cliques,” or groups, but they operated under the larger umbrella of MS-13.  Each clique had a leader, usually referred to as “the first word,” who conducted weekly meetings, where members discussed their crimes against rival gang members and their plans to retaliate against their rivals.  The clique leader collected dues from the gang members and used the money to buy guns and post bail for jailed members.  Some of the money was sent back to the MS-13 leaders in El Salvador and Honduras.  Clique leaders communicated with MS-13 leaders in their home countries to update them on gang activities in the Atlanta area.  The gang members staked out Gwinnett and DeKalb Counties as their home territory, where they committed murders, attempted murders and armed robberies.  They also sold cocaine as part of their gang activity.

The evidence presented at trial showed that the defendants committed the following crimes:

• Alvarado-Linares and Alfaro-Granados, along with another gang member, killed Lal Ko in October 2006.  Ko was a fellow MS-13 member, but Alvarado-Linares, one of the gang leaders, thought that Ko was cooperating with police and ordered his murder.

• In December 2006, when another MS-13 gang member wanted to quit the gang, Alvarado-Linares and Alfaro-Granados ordered him to kill a rival gang member as a condition of leaving MS-13.  On Christmas Eve 2006, that gang member, following orders, shot at a car on Highway 316 that he believed contained rival gang members.  The passenger, Angel Gonzalez, was murdered.  He was 20 years old.

• On New Year’s Eve 2006, Alvarado-Linares was at an apartment complex where he exchanged gang hand signs and insults with two members of the rival gang SUR-13.  Alvarado-Linares then pulled out a gun and shot the men.

• In August 2007, Escobar got into a scuffle with two teenagers at a Shell gas station in Gwinnett County.  Escobar reported the incident to Reyna-Ozuna, who was the gang leader at the time.  Reyna-Ozuna gave Escobar a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun to retaliate.  Escobar went back to the Shell station and shot and killed one of the teenagers as he was painting lines in the parking lot.  The victim was only 16 years old.

• In October 2007, Alvarado-Linares was in Gwinnett County and came across a suspected member of the 18th Street gang.  Alvarado fired a shotgun and killed the victim, who was 15 years old.

Alvarado-Linares, Escobar and Alfaro-Granados were convicted of RICO conspiracy involving murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.  Reyna-Ozuna was convicted of RICO conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.  Alvarado-Linares, Escobar and Alfaro-Granados were also convicted of committing violent crimes in aid of racketeering, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.  All of the defendants were convicted of firearms offenses, which carry a sentence of up to and including life in prison.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The sentencing for the four defendants will be scheduled at a later date before U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story in the Northern District of Georgia.

This case is being investigated by Special Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, Gwinnett County Police Department, DeKalb County Police Department, Norcross Police Department, Chamblee Police Department and Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul R. Jones and Kim S. Dammers of the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Joseph K. Wheatley of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section are prosecuting the case.

JUDGE SAYS "VICIOUS MURDERER" GETS LIFE FOR RACKETEERING

The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:

Thursday, February 16, 2012
“MS-13 Gang Leader in San Francisco Sentenced to Life in PrisonSeventh MS-13 Member to Receive Life Sentence in San Francisco
WASHINGTON –Danilo Velasquez, aka “Triste,” a local leader of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, was sentenced yesterday in federal court in San Francisco by U.S. District Judge William H. Alsup to life in prison, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag for the Northern District of California and Director John Morton of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  Velasquez was convicted in November 2011 by a federal jury of racketeering-related charges.  At sentencing, Judge Alsup described the defendant as a “vicious murderer.”

Velasquez was part of the violent, transnational gang known as MS-13, which claimed part of the Mission District of San Francisco as its territory and operated in the Bay Area since the 1990s.  Velasquez joined the “20th Street” clique, or local MS-13 chapter, in 2004.   Since its inception, MS-13 members have warred with rival gang members and sought to extort payments from other criminals in its territory.   When the federal government indicted the majority of the 20thStreet clique members on Oct. 22, 2008, Velasquez assumed leadership on the streets.  T he evidence presented at trial showed how Velasquez, with others, conspired to commit a variety of crimes to further the goals of the gang, including attacking and killing rival gang members and others who defied or challenged MS-13.

During Velasquez’s trial, the government presented evidence of multiple murders committed by MS-13 members in 2008.  Several of the victims were not involved in gangs or any illegal activity, including a 14-year-old, but were mistaken to be rival gang members by MS-13 members.

The evidence at trial showed that on Feb. 19, 2009, Velasquez and fellow gang members Luis Herrera, aka “Killer” and Jaime Balam, aka “Tweety,” went looking to kill rival gang members in the San Francisco Bay area.   In the Excelsior District of San Francisco, they spotted a car of young Latino professionals – two were college graduates of UC Berkeley, one a law student at UC Hastings, one a bank employee and another a student at City College in San Francisco who was working his way through school at the time.   According to evidence presented at trial, these victims were targeted because some of the men wore baseball caps in colors associated with rival gang members.   None of the victims were gang members themselves.

Herrera, Velasquez and Balam followed the victims’ car into Daly City, Calif., boxed the car in at a red light, whereupon Velasquez and Balam flanked the victims’ car carrying semi-automatic handguns and began shooting.   By the time they finished firing, they had severely wounded two of the passengers and murdered a third passenger, Moises Frias Jr.   Frias, who was 21-years-old, suffered nine gunshot wounds, including several to the head.   He died en route to the hospital.

Herrera pleaded guilty mid-trial to seven racketeering-related counts, including use of a firearm causing the death of Frias.   As part of his plea, Herrera admitted that he was part of the MS-13 hunting party that followed the victims’ car and murdered Frias.   Herrera was sentenced on Jan. 24, 2012, to 35 years in prison.   Balam remains a fugitive.

Velasquez’s trial was the second of three consecutive federal trials of members of the 20th Street clique of MS-13.   Six of Velasquez’s fellow MS-13 gang members were convicted in August 2011 after a five-month trial that involved more than 150 witnesses.   The six gang members – Marvin Carcamo, aka “Psycho”; Angel Noel Guevara, aka “Peloncito”; Erick Lopez, aka “Spooky”; Moris Flores, aka “Slow Pain”; Jonathan Cruz-Ramirez, aka “Soldado”;   and Luis Herrera’s brother Guillermo Herrera, aka “Sparky” – were each sentenced to life in prison in December 2011.

Today, a federal jury convicted the sole defendant in the third trial, Manuel Franco, aka “Dreamer,” on one count of violent crime in aid of racketeering (VICAR) conspiracy.

These cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wilson Leung, Wil Frentzen, Derek Owens, Andrew Scoble and David Hall of the Organized Crime Strike Force of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, and Trial Attorney Theryn G. Gibbons of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.   These cases were investigated by Daly City Police Department, San Francisco Police Department and ICE Homeland Security Investigations.”