Violent Gang Leader Convicted Of Gwinnett Murder (ICYMI)

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — A man authorities say was a high-ranking member of the Sur 13 street gang will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder in a drug-related 2015 shooting in Gwinnett County.

Elijah Rodriguez — also known by the street names "Joker" and "El Jefe Combo" — was sentenced Monday by Superior Court Judge Karen Beyers to life without the possibility of parole, plus 135 years. A jury had convicted Rodriguez on charges of felony murder, conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute, conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine, aggravated battery, criminal gang activity (three counts) influencing a witness and aggravated assault.

Rodriguez was charged with the murder of Kevin Orlando Rivera, whose body was found July 17, 2015 with multiple gunshot wounds at the Forest Vale apartment complex near Norcross. Prosecutors say Rivera had been the victim of another shooting about two weeks before he was murdered and that he had been involved in the robbery of a large amount of methamphetamine days prior to his death.

Prior to his death, Rivera had gotten into a fight with Rodriguez in a Norcross hotel room, detectives testified. Rodriguez initially told investigators he was at a Dekalb County nightclub at the time of the murder, but they were able to establish that he actually was in the vicinity of the murder scene at the time.

They established that Rodriguez attempted to buy a pistol from another Sur 13 member hours prior to Rivera's shooting and produced a photograph of Rodriguez sitting on a bed with two automatic weapons and a pistol that was taken just minutes before Rivera's murder.

Prosecutors also presented evidence that, in the weeks before his trial, Rodriguez attacked a fellow inmate at the Gwinnett County Detention Center in order to prevent him from testifying at the trial. They also say Rodriguez continued to arrange meth deals from behind bars as he awaited trial.

Numerous officers and gang investigators testified that Rodriguez held a leadership position in Sur 13 and a subset gang known as El Combo. At trial, Rodriguez's lawyer argued that El Combo is not a gang, but actually a rap group to which his client belonged.

Prosecutors, however, introduced photographs of numerous gang-related tattoos on Rodriguez's body, including the words "Surenos 13" tattooed prominently across his chest.

The investigation was conducted by Gwinnett County Police homicide and gang units, with assistance from other agencies in Georgia and Alabama. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Mike Morrison and Jason Park.

Rodriguez actually faced even more charges in the case. The jury found him not guilty of malice murder and five other counts in the 15-count indictment.

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Photos courtesy Gwinnett County District Attorney's office