MS-13 Gang Member Faces 27 Years In Prison, Justice Dept. Says

SANTA CRUZ, CA — A high-ranking member of the infamous, international MS-13 gang's Santa Cruz chapter pleaded guilty Friday to charges of conspiracy to commit murder, extortion and racketeering conspiracy, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. He agreed that a reasonable sentence would be 27 years in prison as part of a plea deal.

Tomas Rivera, 27, of El Salvador admitted in his plea agreement to arriving in Santa Cruz in April 2016, becoming second-in-command of the Santa Cruz Salvatrucha Locos gang and engaging in drug trafficking and extortion through January 2017, DOJ said in a press release.

As a top gang official, he acknowledged calling for members to closely follow MS-13 rules, DOJ said. Among them: Requiring new members to commit a murder to be eligible for entry into the gang.

Rivera admitted to getting approval from MS-13 in El Salvador to murder a gang rival, collecting murder weapons that fellow gang members used to carry out the murder, burning clothes and a car involved in a different murder, and organizing the gang's efforts to kill rivals, DOJ said.

He's also admitted to beating up a rival found on their territory and being in the car when a fellow gang member shot into a crowd of people thought to be gang rivals, DOJ said.

Rivera and 11 other alleged Santa Cruz Salvatrucha Locos members were charged in August 2018. Seven others have pleaded guilty and six of those people have been sentenced, DOJ wrote.

“We are grateful to our federal partners for assisting Santa Cruz with taking a very violent criminal off our streets," said Santa Cruz Police Chief Andrew Mills in the press release.

Rivera's sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 13 before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila. In addition to the possibility of spending 27 years behind bars, he may be ordered to pay restitution and a fine, DOJ wrote.