Members of the MS-13 gang were convicted Monday for a string of brutal murders that took place across the Los Angeles area, including the Angeles National Forest. File Photo courtesy of Angeles National Forest/Twitter
A jury in Los Angeles convicted five members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang on Monday for participating in a string of violent murders in order to improve their status in the organization.
The U.S. Justice Department announced the verdict in a press release stating that the victims were strangled, shot, stabbed with a machete or beaten with a baseball bat. Some victims were thrown off a cliff or down a hill in the Angeles National Forest.
MS-13 has been target of the Trump administration’s hardline approach to crime, going so far as to label the gang as a “terrorist organization.” The case follows other convictions and arrests of the gang’s members in other states.
“These convictions mark one of the most significant victories against MS-13’s Los Angeles network in decades,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement that noted how his office helped prosecute the case.
“I applaud the jury for their dedication and bravery in finding these individuals guilty of the brutal murders, extortion and drug trafficking they have inflicted on our communities for years,” Hochman said.
The verdicts came after a nine-week trial where prosecutors presented evidence showing the MS-13 members targeted their victims between 2017 and 2019 because they had either violated the gang’s rules or because of their suspected association with the rival 18th Street Gang, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
One victim was stabbed and hacked to death for claiming to have a leadership role in MS-13. Another MS-13 member was shot for being addicted to methamphetamine in violation of gang rules.
A suspected member of the 18th Street Gang was kidnapped after being lured by two teenage girls. The victim was then strangled, beaten with a baseball bat and stabbed with a hunting-style knife before being thrown off a cliff in the Angeles National Forest.
Another suspected member of the 18th Street Gang was shot in the back of his head after being brought to the Malibu hills while expecting to smoke cannabis and drink beer.
Other victims include an individual returning home from the gym after being mistaken for an 18th Street Gang member and a homeless man with a tattoo believed to be associated with the rival gang.
“MS-13 is a violent brutal gang that must be eliminated from the United States, and we will not stop until we succeed in our mission,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement.
All of the convicted gang members were based in the Los Angeles area and faced charges based on their respective involvement with the murders.
Walter Chavez Larin, 26; Roberto Alejandro Corado Ortiz, 30; and Edwin Martinez, 28, were convicted of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Better known as “RICO,” the law was designed to help prosecutors to crack down on organized crime.
Bryan Alexander Rosales Arias, 28, and his brother, Erick Eduardo Rosales Arias, 27, were found guilty of violent crimes in aid of racketeering murder.
