MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced

MS-13 Gang Member from Herndon Sentenced to Five Years for Lying to Federal Grand Jury


April 12, 2010 - ALEXANDRIA, VA—Edin Ayala-Melgar, 35, of Herndon, Va., was sentenced today to 60 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for making false declarations before the grand jury.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Liam O’Grady. Ayala-Melgar pled guilty on Jan.y 20, 2010.

According to court documents, the grand jury’s investigation focused on the May 5, 2007, shooting of Melvin Reyes, a member of 18th Street gang, outside of an apartment complex on Commerce Street in Springfield, Va. It was believed that members of MS-13 murdered Reyes because he was a rival gang member. Carlos Bladimir Montoya, a member of the Unidos Locos Salvatrucha, also known as the “ULS,” clique of MS-13, had been identified as one of the participants in the murder.

Ayala-Melgar was identified as a material witness, granted immunity, and ordered by the court to testify before the grand jury. Ayala-Melgar appeared before the grand jury twice and falsely testified that he was not a member of MS-13 nor the ULS clique, and that he did not know whether Montoya was a member. In actuality, the defendant was a member of ULS—the same clique as Montoya and one of the cliques of MS-13 under investigation.

Subsequently, the grand jury indicted Montoya for murder in aid of racketeering. Montoya was found guilty after a jury trial. He will be sentenced next month and faces life in prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office, the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force, and the Fairfax Police Department.