MS-13 leader pleads guilty to attempted murder and extortion racketeering

ALEXANDRIA, Va - A leader of the Gangsters Locos Salvatrucha (GLS) clique of MS-13 pled guilty today to participating in a racketeering organization that attempted to murder two rival gang members and extorted pimps trafficking prostitutes from Maryland into Virginia.

"MS-13 and the violent tactics they use to instill fear throughout our communities will not be tolerated," said John P. Torres, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Washington, D.C. "As evidenced in today's plea, MS-13 operates as a criminal enterprise using brutal acts to include attempted murder as a means to spread their control in our neighborhoods. ICE HSI appreciates the close working relationship with our local, state and federal partners to combat this significant threat and to dismantle MS-13's attempt to reign control in Northern Virginia."

Jose Anibal Vigil, 21, of Falls Church, Va., pled guilty to a criminal information charging him with being a member of MS-13, a criminal racketeering enterprise. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on May 6, 2011.

According to the criminal information and the statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Vigil was officially jumped into MS-13 in 2008 and obtained the gang moniker "Silencio." He became a leader of the GLS clique, which was involved in extensive criminal activity, including an attempt on May 27, 2008, to kill two rival gang members outside a youth center in the Culmore area of Fairfax County, Va. Armed with a pick axe, a machete, and a chain, the MS-13 members attacked their rivals yelling, "We are going to kill you," and "La Mara Salvatrucha." The two rival gang members were seriously injured during the attack.

Today, Vigil also admitted that in 2010, MS-13 members collected "protection money" from at least two prostitution organizations operating in Culmore. In exchange for payments, MS-13 members allowed the prostitution services to operate in the area, and one of the leaders of the prostitution services stated that he believed the gang would kill him if he did not pay. A portion of the funds collected was sent to MS-13 gang operations in El Salvador.

"Violent gangs spread fear throughout the community," said U.S. Attorney MacBride. "We are determined to work together - as federal, state, and local law enforcement - to put MS-13 out of business in Northern Virginia.

"Today's plea represents the success of another strategic collaboration between the U.S. Attorney's Office, local and federal agencies, and the Office of the Attorney General - and Virginia is safer for it," said Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. "Each gang member has a choice before him - to give away his or her prime years to a jail cell, or to get an education, have a job, a family, and most of all, freedom. Today's plea is a reminder that young people tempted by gang membership are choosing the wrong path. Your gang will not protect you from the law when you commit crimes. We will catch you and we will prosecute you."

"The guilty plea in this case is very welcome news for the people of Fairfax County and the FCPD officers who spent two years on this investigation," said Col. Dave Rohrer, Chief of Fairfax County Police Department. "We appreciate the partnership and support of our federal partners that enabled us to prosecute Vigil, a serious threat to public safety, under very tough federal laws."

This case was investigated by ICE HSI and the Fairfax County Police Department. Special Assistant United States Attorney Marc Birnbaum, on detail from the Virginia Office of the Attorney General, and Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Fahey are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

This article was sponsored by Police Books.

MS-13 Gang Member in San Francisco Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Charges

WASHINGTON – A member of La Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 pleaded guilty today in federal court in San Francisco to racketeering (RICO) conspiracy and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag for the Northern District of California.

Wilbert Castillo, aka "Cypress," 29, admitted in his guilty plea that he has been associated with or a member of MS-13 since approximately 2004. Castillo admitted that he agreed with others that a conspirator would commit crimes to further the goals of the gang, including attacking and killing rival Norteño gang members and others who defied or challenged MS-13. Castillo also admitted that in September 2004, he was driving other MS-13 members in San Francisco when one of the other MS-13 members directed Castillo to stop because he saw some Norteños on the street. Castillo did as directed, and the other MS-13 member exited the vehicle with a gun and fired several shots. Later, Castillo drove onto a freeway, where the same MS-13 gunman riding in Castillo’s car fired several shots at a nearby car he believed was being driven by a Norteño gang member.

On Nov. 15, 2010, two other MS-13 members — Walter Chinchilla-Linar, aka "Demonio," 24, and Cesar Alvarado, aka "Momia," 20 — pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering. Chinchilla-Linar and Alvarado each admitted to being part of a group of MS-13 gang members who went "hunting," or looking for, Norteño gang members during the early morning of July 31, 2008. The group of MS-13 members eventually found and surrounded three teenagers in the vicinity of Persia and Madrid Streets in San Francisco’s Excelsior District. Alvarado admitted that he and others surrounded

the three teenagers and held them at knife point, questioning two of the teenage boys about their gang affiliation and checking them for gang symbols , while Chinchilla-Linar admitted to acting as a look-out. Chinchilla-Linar and Alvarado both admitted that one teenager then ran away and that two of their fellow MS-13 members pursued the teenager, caught up with him, and then stabbed and killed him.

The maximum penalty for the RICO conspiracy charge is life in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for the conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing for Chinchilla-Linar and Alvarado is scheduled for Feb. 8, 2011. Sentencing for Castillo is scheduled for March 29, 2011.

These guilty pleas are the most recent in a series of pleas by MS-13 gang members to racketeering charges arising out of a multi-year investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, called "Operation Devil Horns," which targeted MS-13 gang members in the San Francisco Bay area. Castillo, Chinchilla-Linar and Alvarado were previously indicted along with 26 other individuals as part of Operation Devil Horns. Since the original charges against MS-13 were unsealed on Oct. 22, 2008, three superseding indictments have been returned charging additional defendants as well as additional crimes. Sixteen defendants are still pending trial, currently scheduled to begin on March 7, 2011.

An indictment contains merely allegations and the remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys W.S. Wilson Leung, Wil Frentzen and Christine Wong, and Trial Attorney Theryn G. Gibbons of the Criminal Division’s Gang Unit. The case was investigated by ICE Homeland Security Investigations.

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.