Thread: 2nd Trial Names 3 MS-13 Leaders

2nd Trial Names 3 MS-13 Leaders

Racketeering Case Includes 4 Murders

By Ruben Castaneda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 14, 2007; B05



Three leaders of the violent street gang Mara Salvatrucha collectively participated in or planned four Washington area murders during a span of about two years, a federal prosecutor said yesterday as the second racketeering trial involving members of the gang got underway in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt.

One of the defendants, Omar "Duke" Vasquez, told FBI agents that he met with leaders of the gang, known as MS-13, in prison in El Salvador to ask them to halt the "green light" to kill his brother, a fellow gang member, Assistant U.S. Attorney James M. Trusty said during the hearing.

Vasquez, 28, later told FBI agents that the leaders agreed to call off the hit, and Vasquez agreed in return to go to Mexico to oversee an MS-13 enterprise in which gang members robbed trains, Trusty said.

Trusty, echoing a theme sounded by federal prosecutors last fall during the trial of two other defendants in the MS-13 case, said that the gang abides by the ethos, "rape, kill, and control." It "uses guns, uses knives, machetes. This gang works together locally, nationally, even internationally," Trusty said.

In their opening statements, defense attorneys for Vasquez and co-defendants Henry S. "Homeboy" Zelaya, 20, and Jose "Piranha" Cruz Diaz, 27, said federal prosecutors were trying to convict their clients by describing the actions of the gang.

"MS-13 is not a defendant in this case," said Manuel J. Retureta, the defense attorney for Cruz Diaz.

Timothy Mitchell, Zelaya's defense attorney, suggested that the government was "overreaching" by portraying MS-13 as an international conspiracy.

"Is it really, as the government would suggest to you, a highly-organized enterprise?" Mitchell said.

The racketeering prosecution is part of a broad investigative and legal offensive launched against the gang in 2005 by federal, state and local authorities.

As recently as five years ago, MS-13, which consists primarily of immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and other Latin American countries, was not widely known outside of law enforcement circles. In recent years, law enforcement officials have attributed dozens of local homicides and nonfatal assaults to the gang, with most of the attacks occurring in suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia.

In 2005, federal prosecutors in Maryland charged 22 alleged MS-13 gang members under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The RICO indictment alleges that members of the gang killed six people and attempted to kill four others between April 2003 and June 2005 in Prince George's and Montgomery counties.

On Nov. 14, a federal jury in Greenbelt convicted two defendants, Edgar Alberto Ayala, 29, known as "Pony," and Oscar Ramos Velasquez, 21, known as "Casper." Both face a maximum sentence of life in prison and will be sentenced in May. Nine other defendants have pleaded guilty to racketeering or other charges.

In his opening statement yesterday, Trusty said Zelaya killed a gang rival, Noel B. Gudiel, who was fatally shot in Langley Park on April 20, 2003. According to charging documents from Prince George's police, five MS-13 members beat and kicked Gudiel. When Gudiel fell to his knees, Zelaya shot him, Trusty said.

The other homicide victims cited in the trial are Randy "Fenix" Calderon and Eliuth Madrigal, both killed in Montgomery on Nov. 22, 2003, and Anthony Campos, who was killed in Fairfax County on Jan. 21, 2005.

Trusty said Zelaya founded a local MS-13 clique, the Teclas faction. The group works with and supports other MS-13 factions, such as the Sailors, with the groups sharing guns and information on law enforcement efforts, the prosecutor said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01636.html

3 MS-13 Leaders Convicted In Killings
Gang Members Were Among 22 Charged With Racketeering

By Ruben Castaneda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 28, 2007; B02



Three leaders of the MS-13 street gang were convicted yesterday of conspiring to engage in a racketeering enterprise in which they participated in four murders and obstructed justice by threatening witnesses -- the latest in a string of victories for federal authorities in Maryland in their legal assault against the organization.

One of the defendants, Omar "Duke" Vasquez, 28, was sent by gang leaders in El Salvador to run the gang's operations in Maryland, the District and Northern Virginia, according to evidence presented by prosecutors. Vasquez had a mandate to call the shots for the various cliques that make up the gang, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, the prosecutors said.

After a six-week trial, the U.S. District Court jury deliberated for 2 1/2 days before convicting Vasquez, Henry S. "Homeboy" Zelaya, 20, and Jose "Piranha" Cruz Diaz, 27. Each faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison.

The defendants were among 22 alleged MS-13 members charged in 2005 under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. Including yesterday's verdicts, 12 of the original defendants have either been found guilty of racketeering or pleaded guilty to that offense or related crimes. The first two to go to trial were convicted in November.

Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein, who sat in the courtroom as the jury's decision was announced, said he hopes the verdicts will deter potential MS-13 recruits.

"I think it's an important verdict. I hope it will send the message that anyone who joins MS-13 will be subject to prosecution," Rosenstein said. "The evidence in this case was very chilling, establishing that these defendants engaged in sexual violence and murder."

According to evidence presented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James M. Trusty and Chan Park and by David Jaffe, a trial attorney with the Justice Department, Vasquez, Zelaya and Cruz Diaz participated in or approved the murders of four people between April 2003 and January 2005.

Prosecution witnesses, including fellow MS-13 members who have pleaded guilty and agreed to testify for the government, described the murders:


? On April 20, 2003, Zelaya fatally shot a gang rival, Noel B. Gudiel, in Langley Park, after other MS-13 gang members beat Gudiel and knocked him to the ground.


? On Nov. 22, 2003, Randy "Fenix" Calderon and Eliuth Madrigal were killed in Silver Spring. Calderon, a gang member, angered leaders by killing Madrigal inside an apartment used by one of the MS-13 members, according to court testimony. For this transgression, Calderon was fatally shot, according to government witnesses, who included a former MS-13 member who worked undercover for law enforcement for nearly two years.


? On Jan. 21, 2005, Vasquez, Cruz Diaz and other MS-13 members drove to an apartment building in Fairfax to look for rival gang members, one of whom had beaten an MS-13 member at a McDonald's in Northern Virginia, according to government witnesses. The MS-13 members shot at a group of youths sitting outside the building, killing Anthony Campos, 14. There was no evidence presented at the trial that Campos was involved in the McDonald's altercation or a member of any gang.

U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow scheduled Zelaya's sentencing for July 30, Vasquez's for Aug. 6, and Cruz Diaz's for Aug. 10.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 02108.html