MS-13 Gang Member Gets 35 Years In Federal Prison: Prosecutors

GAITHERSBURG, MD — An MS-13 gang member from Gaithersburg was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland announced Friday.

Twenty-six-year-old Oscar Ernesto Delgado-Perez — also known as "Complicado" and "Indio" — was sentenced to 35 years in jail, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiring to participate in racketeering.

MS-13, a gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, has branches or "cliques" that work to increase the gang's levels of organization, violence, extortion, and other criminal activity, according to federal prosecutors. In and around Maryland, these cliques include the Langley Park Salvatrucha ("LPS") and the Sailors Locos Salvatrucha Westside ("SLSW" or "Sailors").

According to his plea agreement, Delgado-Perez was a member of the Sailors clique and conspired with fellow gang members and associates to participate in a number of felonious crimes, including extortion and murder. Federal prosecutors say he distributed illegal drugs for the gang around Gaithersburg in 2016 and conspired with associates to murder someone they thought was a member of the rival 18th Street gang.

On June 16, 2016, a female MS-13 co-conspirator lured the victim, 18-year-old Cristian Antonio Villagran Morales, to a wooden area within Malcolm King Park in Gaithersburg. While Morales was with the female co-conspirator, Delgado-Perez and several other co-conspirators attacked the victim, stabbing him multiple times with a knife, officials said.

Citing the autopsy report, prosecutors say Morales died after being stabbed more than 150 times.

"We will not tolerate the violence perpetrated by MS-13 in Maryland," said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. "(The sentence) sends a strong message to MS-13 gang members that federal, state, and local law enforcement will continue to work together to find and bring to justice MS-13 members who commit these heinous crimes."

Delgado-Perez's co-defendants have pleaded guilty to charges related to their MS-14 gang activity. They are:

• Jose Augustin Salmeron-Larios — 26, of Severn (detained, awaiting sentencing)
  • A.K.A. "Joseph Morales-Martinez," "Angel Salvador Gutierrez," “Yankee," and "Kean"
• Juan Carlos Espinal-Rapalo — 21, of Gaithersburg (detained, awaiting sentencing)
  • A.K.A. "Chiki"
• Daniel Adonai Ramos-Romero — 22, of Gaithersburg (detained, awaiting sentencing)
  • A.K.A. "Romero Taylor Binga," "Taylor Romero," and "Binga"
• Noe Coreas-Mejia — 22, of Hyattsville (sentenced to 33 years in federal prison)
  • A.K.A. "Tsunami"
• Kevin Henriquez-Chavez — 24, of Washington Grove (sentenced to 30 years in federal prison)
  • A.K.A. "Loco" and "Crazy"