Big MS-13 Gang Bust In NJ: 6 Charged With Murder In Sweep

Six members of the violent street gang MS-13 were indicted in a big New Jersey bust this week and face murder charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Five of the defendants, all citizens of El Salvador, are members or associates of MS-13 sub-units, or “cliques,” operating in New Jersey, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

A grand jury returned a seven-count indictment Wednesday charging six members of the violent street gang MS-13, including one who is incarcerated in El Salvador, with various gang-related offenses, including racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.

“MS-13 is one of the most violent and vicious gangs in America today,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a justice department release. “The gang has more than 10,000 members following its barbaric motto of ‘kill, rape, and control’ across 40 states, and that threatens law-abiding Americans."

According to court documents and statements made in court:

The defendants and other New Jersey MS-13 members and associates allegedly engaged in various forms of illegal racketeering activity on behalf of the gang between late 2014 and late 2015.

This included: the execution of a suspected rival gang member in West New York on July 1, 2015, which resulted in Garcia-Gomez, the shooter, becoming eligible to join MS-13, according to the release.

The activity also included a failed May 2015 plot to kill a member of the rival 18th Street gang, who had been lured to New Jersey by a female MS-13 associate; and a plot to kill a member of the Hudson Locotes clique, whom Salvadoran MS-13 leaders had “green-lighted” – or ordered to be killed, according to the release.

The group also was accused of extorting the owner of a Hudson County restaurant by threatening harm if the person did not pay money to the gang. They also conspired to sell cocaine on behalf of the gang, according to the release.

The people indicted are:

• Juan Escalante-Melgar, aka “Humilde,” 28, the former leader of the Pinos Locos Salvatrucha clique (the “Pinos clique”)
• Elmer Cruz-Diaz, aka “Locote,” 29, the former leader of the Hudson Locotes Salvatrucha clique (the “Hudson Locotes clique”)
• Oscar Sanchez-Aguilar, aka “Snappy,” 22, a member of the Pinos clique
• Jose Rivera-Robles, aka “Layo,” 33, a member of the Hudson Locotes clique
• Juan Garcia-Gomez, aka “Scooby,” 22, a Hudson County MS-13 recruit.
• The sixth defendant, Christian Linares-Rodriguez, aka “Donkey,” 38, is a high-ranking MS-13 member who is currently incarcerated in El Salvador, and who allegedly authorized and directed much of the illegal activity described in the superseding indictment.

They all identified Union City as residences. Here are more details on what happened, according to the release:

Shortly after midnight on July 1, 2015, Garcia-Gomez shot and killed a person as the victim was entering an apartment building in West New York. Surveillance cameras mounted outside the apartment building captured the murder from multiple angles, according to the release.

Several angles show a male, later identified as Garcia-Gomez, approach the victim from behind, level a revolver and then fire a single shot into the person's head, according to the release.

Additional angles show a male, later identified as Sanchez-Aguilar, watching the murder from across the street, and another male, later identified as Rivera-Robles, lingering close by and meeting with Garcia-Gomez moments after the execution, according to the release.

Investigators also retrieved surveillance footage showing Garcia-Gomez boarding a bus after the murder, and later, entering a residence in Union City. Investigators visited the Union City residence and located Garcia-Gomez, according to the release.

Investigators also obtained a warrant to search Garcia-Gomez’s residence and recovered, among other things: a pair of distinctive jeans that Garcia-Gomez wore when he committed the murder; and a box of .44-caliber ammunition, which matches the caliber of the bullet recovered from victim's body, according to the release.

Through additional investigation, including witness interviews and numerous recorded telephone conversations, some of which were obtained from the Salvadoran government, investigators discovered that Garcia-Gomez shot and killed a suspected rival gang member so that he could become a full member of MS-13, according to the release.

The investigation further revealed that Escalante-Melgar – one of the highest-ranking Hudson County MS-13 members at the time – directed Garcia-Gomez to carry out the execution, with Linares-Rodriguez’ approval from El Salvador, according to the release.

Escalante-Melgar also ordered Sanchez-Aguilar and Rivera-Robles to accompany Garcia-Gomez and serve as lookouts. Prior to the murder, Sanchez-Aguilar had been surveilling the victim, while Rivera-Robles and others had test-fired the murder weapon, which belonged to Escalante-Melgar, according to the release.

The May 2015 murder plot

Around May 2015, Hudson County MS-13 members and associates engaged in a plot to kill a member of the rival 18th Street gang from the Maryland/Virginia area. The plot involved a female associate of MS-13 and luring one of the victims to the New Jersey area so that MS-13 members could execute the person, according to the release.

The victim arrived in Hudson County around May 25, 2015. Upon arrival, Escalante-Melgar ordered three MS-13 members to carry out the murder. When their initial attempts to make contact with the victim did not go as planned, the MS-13 members decided to secure a room at a local motel, and offered to transport the person back to the Maryland/Virginia area the following day, according to the release.

At Escalante-Melgar’s direction, the MS-13 members agreed to stab the victim to death at some point during the trip, and then dispose of the body. The murder was foiled the following day when the person – sensing that the MS-13 members planned to harm – jumped from a vehicle outside a tollbooth on the way to the Maryland/Virginia area.

The MS-13 members later received beatings for failing to kill the rival 18th Street gang member, according to the release.

The suspected informant murder plot

As alleged in the indictment, Salvadoran MS-13 leaders, including Linares-Rodriguez, issued a green light to kill a member of the Hudson Locotes clique suspected of assisting the authorities, according to the release.

Linares-Rodriguez allegedly issued one green light after someone refused to carry out instructions to kill a member of the rival 18th Street gang in September 2014, and then issued a second green light when that same person was suspected of assisting law enforcement in early 2015, according to the release.

Escalante-Melgar, Cruz-Diaz, and others discussed the kill order on the person, as well as plans to carry out the kill order, which included assigning MS-13 members and associates to surveil in preparation for the murder, according to the release.

Here are the charges they face:

• Count One charges all six defendants with racketeering conspiracy.
• Count two charges Escalante-Melgar and Linares-Rodriguez with conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering based on the May 2015 Murder Plot.
• Count three charges Escalante-Melgar, Cruz-Diaz, Sanchez-Aguilar, Rivera-Robles, and Garcia-Gomez with murder in aid of racketeering based on the July 1, 2015 murder.
• Count four charges all six defendants with conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering based on the July 1, 2015 murder.
• Count five charges all six defendants with discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and aiding and abetting that crime.
• • Count six charges Escalante-Melgar, Cruz-Diaz, Sanchez-Aguilar, Rivera-Robles, and Garcia-Gomez with causing death through the use of a firearm based on the July 1, 2015 murder.
• Count seven charges Escalante-Melgar, Cruz-Diaz, and Linares-Rodriguez with conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering based on the suspected informant murder plot.

"Today’s indictment makes clear that the Trump Administration and this Department will be relentless in taking the fight to MS-13 with every lawful tool at our disposal. I want to thank the FBI, ICE, and DOJ Trial Attorneys for their hard work on this case, part of our aggressive effort to dismantle MS-13 and get its members off our streets for good,” Sessions said.

“Our office has been pursuing and successfully prosecuting the members of the violent transnational gang MS-13 for the crimes they have committed in New Jersey and elsewhere,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. “The facts described in the indictment returned today make it clear why: This is a vicious organization with no regard for human life or for the laws of our country. We will continue to focus our resources to ensure that the people of New Jersey are made safe from this violence.”

ICE photo