Thread: MS-13 gang member guilty of murder in crime spree

MS-13 gang member guilty of murder in San Fernando Valley crime spree

12:22 PM | June 5, 2009

A 26-year-old Mara Salvatrucha gang member was found guilty of two counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder in a two-day shooting spree in the San Fernando Valley, officials said today.

Two years ago, Marlon Osorio approached people he thought were rival gang members, asked where they were from, then opened fire, Deputy L.A. County Dist. Atty. Paul Nunez said in a statement.

A Los Angeles jury found Osorio guilty of the first-degree murder of Nelson Ramirez, who was shot five times while he sat in his car in Van Nuys, and Jessie Garcia, who was shot in Canoga Park. Both victims were killed Aug. 7, 2006, the same day Osorio attempted to kill four other people.

A week later, Osorio fired on seven others in North Hills, including one woman who suffered a collapsed lung after being shot in the back, Nunez said.

Osorio was found not guilty on one count of attempted murder.

The jury is scheduled to return Monday to Judge Curtis Rappe’s court for the penalty phase of the capital murder case, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Mara Salvatrucha, a Latino gang also known as MS-13, began in Los Angeles more than two decades ago and is believed to have tens of thousands of members in several countries.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... ember.html

Just doing jobs that Americans won't do ?

I.C.E. News Release

June 8, 2009

MS-13 member sentenced to life in prison for 2007 Virginia murder

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A federal judge sentenced 29-year-old Sergio Amador Amador on Friday to life in prison for killing a suspected rival gang member. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigated the case.

"Transnational street gangs pose a public safety threat to communities throughout this area," said James Dinkins, special agent in charge for ICE Office of Investigations in Washington, D.C. "This sentence underscores the multi-jurisdictional commitment to arrest and prosecute violent transnational gang members and lets those gangsters still on the street know that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated."

According to court documents, Amador and Oscar Omar Lobo-Lopez fatally shot Melvin Reyes, a suspected rival gang member, on May 5, 2007, in Springfield, Va. On Feb. 27, 2009, Amador pleaded guilty to murder in aid of racketeering before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III.

Lobo-Lopez also faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison when he is sentenced on July 24, 2009.

Amador and Lobo-Lopez, both members of the MS-13 or Mara Salvatrucha gang, fatally shot Reyes because he was believed to be a member of the rival 18th Street gang. The rules of MS-13 require its members to attack and/or kill rival gang members.

After patrolling for Reyes earlier that day, Amador, Lobo-Lopez and other MS-13 members located him at the Springfield Garden apartments. Amador and Lobo-Lopez, armed with handguns, chased after and fired at Reyes. Wounded from the initial gunshots, Reyes fell in the parking lot. Amador and Lobo-Lopez approached him, and Lobo-Lopez ordered Amador to finish him. Amador then fired shots to Reyes' head. Reyes had seven gunshot wounds at the time of his death. Amador was a member of a New York clique of MS-13, known as Surenos Locos Salvatrucha.

In addition to ICE, this case was investigated by the FBI's Washington Field Office, the Fairfax County Police Department, and the Suffolk County Police Department.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

Last Modified: Monday, June 8, 2009
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0906/090608alexandria.htm

Gang member gets 2 life prison terms for Valley killings
Daily News Wire Services
Updated: 12/05/2009 12:24:03 AM PST

An admitted gang member who was convicted of murdering two people and trying to kill 10 others in the San Fernando Valley was sentenced Friday to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Curtis B. Rappe also ordered Marlon Osorio, 26, to serve an additional 10 life terms plus 300 years to life in prison.

Osorio was convicted June 4 of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of Nelson Ramirez and Jesus Garcia, with jurors finding true the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and gang-related murder. He also was convicted of 10 counts of attempted murder.

Ramirez was shot five times as he sat in his car in the 1400 block of Vanowen Street in Van Nuys on Aug. 7, 2006.

Within an hour, Osorio killed Garcia in Canoga Park and tried to kill four other people.

He also fired on another group of people on Aug. 14, 2006, in the 15000 block of Nordhoff Street in North Hills. One woman was shot in the back and suffered a collapsed lung.

Prosecutors opted not to seek the death penalty again after jurors deadlocked June 14 on whether to recommend that Osorio be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_13931104

Gotta love cultural diversity.