MS-13 Gang Members Sentenced In 'Violent Racketeering Conspiracy'

EDGEWATER, MD — MS-13 gang member Francisco Ramirez Pena, also known as Tepo and Advertencia, 25, of Edgewater has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release on a federal charge related to his participation in a "violent racketeering conspiracy," including a murder.

Edwin Ruiz Urrutia, also known as Sylvestre, 21, of Silver Spring, also was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison and five years of supervised release alongside Pena. An MS-13 associate, Darvin Guerra Zacarias, also known as Chapin, age 27, of Silver Spring, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his role in the conspiracy to commit murder.

According to their plea agreements, Ramirez Pena, Ruiz Urrutia, and Guerra Zacarias conspired with other MS-13 members and associates to engage in racketeering activity, including a murder, conspiracies to commit murder, extortion and drug trafficking, in order to further the interests of the gang.

“Federal, state and local law enforcement will use all the tools at our disposal to arrest and prosecute MS-13 gang members who prey on our neighbors,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “We will not rest until we dismantle this organization and remove the criminals who terrorize our communities—including the Central American immigrant communities in Maryland."

MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador and other Central American countries. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Frederick County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George’s County and Montgomery County. Since January 2017, Ramirez Pena, Ruiz Urrutia and Guerra Zacarias were members and associates of the Fulton Locotes Salvatrucha clique of MS-13.

During the conspiracy, members of MS-13 were expected to protect the name, reputation and status of the gang from rival gang members and other people using "any means necessary." MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence both to maintain membership and discipline within the gang, as well as against rival gang members.

"In June 2017, MS-13 gang members believed that Victim 18 was an associate of the rival 18th Street gang. Guerra-Zacarias was present when gang members, including Ramirez Pena and Ruiz Urrutia, were talking about how to lure out Victim 18 in order to murder her. On the day of the murder, Guerra-Zacarias picked up MS-13 gang members, along with a female associate of the gang who was supposed to lure out Victim 18, and drove them to meet with Victim 18. The female got Victim 18 to enter Guerra-Zacarias’s car, at which point they drove to another location where Ramirez Pena and other MS-13 gang members entered the car and subdued Victim 18," according to a statement provided by The United States Attorney's Office of the District of Maryland.

Guerra-Zacarias then drove them all to a secluded area in Crownsville where other gang members, including Ruiz Urrutia, had dug a grave and gathered weapons. Guerra-Zacarias dropped Victim 18 and the gang members off, then he and the female co-conspirator left. Victim 18 started screaming and gang members subdued her by choking her. Ramirez Pena, Ruiz Urrutia and other MS-13 gang members then dragged her to the site of the grave and all present attacked her with a machete and knives until she was dead. Victim 18’s body was then dismembered and buried in the grave.

"In September 2017, investigators recovered Victim 18’s body from a clandestine grave in Crownsville. The medical examiner found that the cause of death was homicide. The victim had suffered numerous blunt and sharp force traumas, her head had been severed and her body cut into several pieces. The murder of Victim 18 was intended to maintain and increase the status of MS-13 and allow members to maintain or increase their status within the gang," the statement said.

As stated in their plea agreements, members of the Fulton clique, including Ramirez Pena and Ruiz Urrutia, also conspired to distribute marijuana.

A total of 29 defendants have been charged in this case with participating in a racketeering conspiracy and/or other crimes related to their association with MS-13, including 18 defendants charged in the fifth superseding indictment filed on October 21, 2019. A total of 13 defendants have pleaded guilty to crimes related to their participation in MS-13 gang activities.