MS-13 Member Sentenced for Illegal Possession of Firearm and Illegal Reentry

BOSTON – A Salvadoran national was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for unlawfully possessing a firearm and illegal reentry the United States after being deported.

Oscar Ramos, 30, a Salvadoran national who previously resided in Maryland, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to one year and one day in prison and three years of supervised release. Following the completion of his sentence, Ramos will be placed into removal proceedings and deported to El Salvador. In October 2018, Ramos pleaded guilty to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and illegal reentry after deportation.

Ramos was previously ordered deported from the United States in 2009. However, sometime after his removal, he reentered the United States, and in December 2013, he was arrested in Chelsea for possessing a loaded Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolver and a knife. Upon his arrest, Ramos admitted to being a member of MS-13. Ramos was charged in Chelsea District Court with carrying the loaded firearm and released on $1,000 bail. Ramos then failed to appear for a court date in January 2014 and was a fugitive until he was arrested on March 2, 2018, in Baltimore, Md., on the outstanding warrant. Ramos has been detained in federal custody since that arrest.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Commissioner Thomas Turco of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections; Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger; Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Thompkins; Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas; Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett; Boston Police Commissioner William Gross; Chelsea Police Chief Brian A. Kyes; Everett Police Chief Steven A. Mazzie; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Revere Police Chief James Guido; and Somerville Police Chief David Fallon made the announcement today. The U.S. Marshals Service has provided crucial assistance with the case.