The U.S. Justice Department released
the below information:
A Maryland gang member
pleaded guilty today to his participation in a racketeering enterprise in
furtherance of the activities of the gang known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or
MS-13, including his participation in two conspiracies to commit murder.
Acting Assistant Attorney
General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting
U.S. Attorney Stephen M. Schenning of the District of Maryland; Special Agent
in Charge Andre R. Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE)
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the
Prince George’s County, Maryland, Police Department; Prince George’s County
State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; Chief Douglas Holland of the Hyattsville
Police Department; Chief Edward Hargis of the Frederick Police Department;
Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith; Chief J. Thomas Manger of
the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney
John McCarthy made the announcement.
Selvin Raymundo Salazar, aka
“Inquieto,” aka “Little,” 26, pleaded guilty before the Honorable Judge Peter
J. Messitte in the District of Maryland to conspiracy to participate in a
racketeering enterprise.
“Selvin Raymundo Salazar and
his MS-13 clique terrorized communities in Maryland by committing senseless
acts of violence,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan. “Today’s
guilty plea makes plain the Department’s unwavering commitment to working with
our federal, state, and local partners to use all lawful tools at our disposal
to disrupt the significant threat that this violent and ruthless gang poses to
our communities.”
“MS-13 is a transnational
criminal organization that presents a direct public safety threat, not just to
the Maryland-area communities we’ve been sworn to protect, but also to
communities across the country,” said Special Agent in Charge Watson. “Homeland Security Investigations is
committed to investigating MS-13 criminal activities, collaborating with our
local law-enforcement partners to crackdown on this international gang and
ensuring that Maryland remains safeguarded from the violent crimes MS-13
commits.”
According to the plea
agreement, MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of
immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the
largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Prince George’s
County, Montgomery County, and Frederick County, Maryland. MS-13 members are required to commit acts of
violence within the gang and against rival gangs. One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that
its members must attack and kill rivals, known as “chavalas,” whenever
possible.
Pursuant to his plea
agreement, Salazar admitted that from at least 2012 through at least 2014, he
was a member and associate of the Normandie Locos Salvatrucha clique of
MS-13. Salazar admitted that on Feb. 28,
2013, and again on July 30, 2014, for the purpose of maintaining and increasing
his position in MS-13, he and other MS-13 members conspired to murder victims
that he and his co-conspirators had identified as chavalas.
Specifically, Salazar
admitted that on Feb. 28, 2013, in the Lewisdale community of Prince George’s
County, Maryland, he and members of the Sailors Locos Salvatrucha Westside
clique of MS-13 traveled in a vehicle, searching for chavalas. Salazar was armed with a .380 caliber handgun
that belonged to the Normandie clique.
After observing an individual that he and his co-conspirators believed
to be a chavala, a co-conspirator took the firearm from Salazar, and Salazar
and a co-conspirator exited the car and approached the victim, who was standing
with a companion. Salazar’s
co-conspirator took the handgun from Salazar and shot the victim as the
victim’s companion ran away. Salazar and
his co-conspirator ran back to the vehicle and he and the occupants of the
vehicle fled. Salazar then returned the
.380 caliber firearm to the Normandie clique.
Salazar further admitted that
on July 30, 2014, in Hyattsville, Maryland, he and at least two other members
or associates of the Normandie clique of MS-13 approached three victims. According to Salazar, two of his
co-defendants pulled out firearms and shot one of the victims seven times, causing wounds to the victim’s
upper torso, right arm and face. The
second victim sustained a gunshot wound to his right side. Salazar further stated that, prior to the
shooting, he and his co-conspirators had been informed by an associate of MS-13
that the victims were chavalas.
Five of the shell casings
recovered from the scene of the July 30, 2014 shooting were linked to fired
casings recovered at other MS-13-related crime scenes, including the Feb. 28,
2013 shooting described above; a murder that took place in Hyattsville,
Maryland on Nov. 11, 2012; and a shooting that took place in Laurel, Maryland
on March 28, 2014.
Two of Salazar’s
co-defendants remain charged in the third superseding indictment with various
racketeering violations and multiple violent crimes, including murder. The trial of one of the remaining defendants
is scheduled to commence on Feb. 20. An
indictment is merely an allegation.
Those defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Salazar is scheduled to be
sentenced on May 23.
No comments:
Post a Comment