Thread: New York Post 371K Followers MS-13 gang cut man’s heart out with a machete in forest

New York Post
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MS-13 gang cut man’s heart out with a machete in forest as heinous tattoo gives away suspect: trial

Story by Zain Khan
• 4h • 3 min read

​A chilling tattoo of a human heart clutched by clawed hands may have helped federal prosecutors tie an alleged MS-13 gangster to one of Los Angeles’ most gruesome killings, a court has heard.Prosecutors claim Angel Guzman helped butcher a man while deep inside the Angeles National Forest in 2017 — stabbing him more than 100 times, carving out his heart with a machete, and dumping his body into a canyon, the LA Times reported.
Now, Guzman and three other alleged members of the notorious MS-13 Fulton gang are facing federal charges tied to a bloody string of murders that cops say turned the LA County mountains into execution grounds.



Incarcerated El Salvadorian gang members display their heavily tattooed bodies.

Assistant US Attorney Suria Bahadue told jurors the violence stemmed from a dramatic shift inside the gang beginning around 2015, when local leaders allegedly adopted stricter “Salvadoran rules” requiring recruits to kill in order to earn full membership.
“There was a shift in the way MS-13 operated in this city,” Bahadue said. “That shift resulted in extreme violence.”

The first victim in the case was Juan Jose Sibrian, who was allegedly targeted because gang members believed he had defaced MS-13 graffiti and violated gang rules through methamphetamine use, according to prosecutors.



A chilling tattoo (not pictured) of a human heart may have helped feds solve the murder tied an alleged MS-13 gangster. AFP via Getty Images

On March 6, 2017, gang members allegedly lured Sibrian from Whitsett Park in North Hollywood before choking him unconscious and driving him into the remote forest.
Authorities say the group stopped to buy rubber gloves and alcohol before carrying out the savage attack in an isolated canyon area without cellphone service or witnesses.

Prosecutors allege Guzman and several others repeatedly hacked and stabbed Sibrian with knives and machetes, inflicting 107 stab wounds before his heart was removed from his chest.
“Snoopy was surprised at the level of violence that his foot soldiers had reached, and he promoted them,” Bahadue told jurors, referring to alleged Fulton clique leader Edgar Velasquez by his nickname.
Defense attorneys blasted the government’s case as unreliable, arguing prosecutors lack physical evidence directly tying their clients to the murders.



Angel Guzman and three other alleged members of MS-13 (not pictured) are facing charges tied to the string of murders. AFP via Getty Images

“Their entire case is built on murderer’s row — a bunch of liars just trying to get out of jail,” Guzman’s attorney James Tedford said.
Federal prosecutors say the killings continued for months.
Another alleged victim, identified only as G.B., was hacked to death with a machete after gang members suspected him of cooperating with law enforcement.

A third victim, Elvin Hernandez, was allegedly murdered for falsely claiming ties to MS-13. A cooperating witness testified gang members attempted to decapitate him before throwing his body into a canyon.
“We all started taking turns,” the witness testified.
Authorities say the violent killings reflected an escalating effort by the gang to enforce loyalty through terror. Prosecutors claim one defendant later bragged behind bars about the murders.
“Yeah, I killed him, motherf–ker. I’m going to throw ‘MS’ at them like this,” alleged gang member Jose Jonathan Castillo reportedly said.
“And if you let me go, I’ll kill again.”

MS-13 gang cut man’s heart out with a machete in forest as heinous tattoo gives away suspect: trial