Leader Of MS-13 Gang Is Sentenced To Life In Prison

SAN FRANCISCO — A 34-year-old man who led a notorious San Francisco street gang was sentenced to life imprisonment Tuesday after being convicted last year on murder and racketeering charges, federal prosecutors said.

Elmer Rodriguez, nicknamed "Gordo," received the sentence from Richard Seeborg, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, after Rodriguez's June 1, 2023 conviction.

Rodriguez was the leader of the street gang known as "MS-13 clique" that effectuated murders and violent assaults across the Bay Area, particularly in San Francisco's Mission District, between 2013 and 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California.

MS-13 is a transnational criminal organization with more than 10,000 members throughout the U.S. and Latin America. MS-13 is "organized into 'cliques,' that is smaller groups which typically operate in a specific city," the federal indictment said.

The indictment said that MS-13 20th Street is the clique claiming territory in the Mission District between 15th and 21st streets, from Church Street to Van Ness Avenue.

The government proved at trial that Rodriguez was the leader of the clique between 2013 and 2019. During that period, he ordered the murders of one man because he was believed to be a member of a rival gang, and another because he was thought to be cooperating with law enforcement.

One victim was killed by gunshots to his head and neck while the other died after being hacked with a machete more than 40 times. The government's sentencing memorandum reported that the machete killing was the "most horrific thing" its lead investigator had seen in 26 years in law enforcement.

Beyond the murders, the government showed that Rodriguez ordered various attempted murders, assaults and the extortion of drug dealers in the Tenderloin District.

Rodriguez was arrested in December 2017 and has been in custody since.

In the sentencing memorandum, the government says that while Rodriguez was in jail, he continued gang activities including ordering gang members to send drugs to jail and to kill a gang member who Rodriguez believed to be a "snitch."

After a three-week trial, a federal jury convicted Rodriguez one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of murder in aid of racketeering, one count of attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Prosecutors argued for the life sentence.

According to the lawyers who prosecuted the case, "Rodriguez's lengthy gang tenure, involvement in egregious acts of violence, and unrepentant attitude justify maximum sentences for Rodriguez. Anything less than life in prison for Rodriguez is insufficient to keep the public safe."

The lawyers added, "At no point has Rodriguez shown remorse for his actions."

The sentencing memoranda was surprisingly candid about the prosecutors' view that even a life sentence "will do little to deter Rodriguez's gang activity. Rodriguez has demonstrated that he will not hesitate to commit crimes while in custody, and there is no reason to believe that he will stop his gang activities."

However, they argued that a life sentence will better protect the public and make it harder for Rodriguez to orchestrate crimes of violence.

Judge Seeborg agreed with the government's assessment and imposed a life sentence. In denying Rodriguez's motion for a new trial, Seeborg wrote that the evidence of Rodriguez's guilt was "overwhelming."

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Organized Crime Task Force.

According to a statement from that office, Rodriguez's conviction brings the total convictions resulting from the investigation of the racketeering enterprise to 17.

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