Plainfield Man Plotted To Kill Rival Gang Members, Government Witnesses: Police Say

Plainfield, NJ -- A gang member from Union County admitted today to plotting to kill rival gang members and government witnesses from prison, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman and Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced.

Julio Adalberto Orellana-Carranza, aka “Player,” 27, of Plainfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to one count of an indictment charging him with conspiring to engage in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13.

“MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador,” according to the documents filed and statements made in court. “Branches, or “cliques,” of MS-13 operate throughout the United States, including Plainfield. MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence to maintain membership and discipline within the gang.

Orellana-Carranza had been a member of the Plainfield Locos Salvatrucha (PLS) clique of MS-13 from at least August 2011. He conspired with other members of MS-13 to engage in racketeering activity including murder, robbery, extortion and drug trafficking, according to statements he made in court.

In June 2011, Orellana-Carranza and other members of the PLS clique plotted to kill members of rival gangs on the streets of Plainfield, he said in court.

Even after being arrested, Orellana-Carranza and other jailed MS-13 members hatched a plan to intimidate and/or kill individuals they believed were cooperating with law enforcement in the prosecution of MS-13 members, he said in court.

Orellana-Carranza faces a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Orellana-Carranza will remain detained pending sentencing, which is currently scheduled for May 4.

Eleven additional members and associates of the PLS clique of MS-13 are scheduled for trial in front of Judge Chesler on Feb. 9. The charges include several counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery, extortion, witness retaliation and sexual assault.

(Photo, morguefile)