A Los Angeles jury on Tuesday convicted five members of the transnational criminal organization Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13) for committing six murders to elevate their status within the gang, according to a Justice Department press release. The victims were killed in gruesome ways \u2014 including strangulation, shootings, stabbings with knives or a machete, and beatings with a baseball bat \u2014 before some of their bodies were discarded in the Angeles National Forest.<\/p>\n
Following a nine-week trial, jurors found Walter Chavez Larin, 26, Roberto Alejandro Corado Ortiz, 30, and Edwin Martinez, 28, guilty of conspiracy under the RICO Act. Chavez and Corado were convicted on two counts each of violent crimes in aid of racketeering (VICAR) murder, while Martinez was found guilty of three such counts. Bryan Alexander Rosales Arias, 28, and his brother Erick Eduardo Rosales Arias, 27, both from South Los Angeles, were each convicted of one count of VICAR murder. Prosecutors said the killings targeted rivals from the 18th Street gang and individuals who had violated MS-13\u2019s internal rules.<\/p>\n
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli praised the verdict, saying, \u201cMS-13 is a violent, brutal gang that must be eliminated from the United States, and we will not stop until we succeed.\u201d U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi added that the case highlights the federal government\u2019s commitment to dismantling MS-13\u2019s operations nationwide. FBI Assistant Director Akil Davis, along with LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell and L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna, commended the collaborative law enforcement effort, emphasizing the importance of unity between local and federal agencies to protect communities and send a strong message that gang violence will not be tolerated.<\/p>\n