MS-13 Gang Member Killed Man As Part Of Initiation: Police

NORTH PLAINFIELD, NJ — A Somerset County man and member of the MS-13 gang admitted to fatally shooting a Plainfield resident in 2011, authorities report.

Jose Romero-Aguirre, a.k.a. “Coñejo,” 32, of North Plainfield and member of the Plainfield Locos Salvatrucha (PLS) clique of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang, pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated manslaughter in connection with the death of 22-year-old Andres Chach, acting Union County Prosecutor Michael Monahan announced Tuesday.

• See Related: Somerset County Gang Member Linked to Murder in Union County: Prosecutor

Chach was found suffering from two gunshot wounds outside of a nightclub on the 300 block of West Front Street outside a restaurant in Plainfield on Jan. 9, 2011, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Jillian Reyes, who prosecuted the case.

Chach was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Reyes said.

Romero-Aguirrewas identified as a suspect in the case following an investigation involving the Union County Homicide Task Force and Plainfield Police Division, assisted by members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Homeland Security Investigations(HSI).

Romero-Aguirre reportedly shot Chach as part of an initiation into his gang the Plainfield Locos Salvatrucha, according to testimony in a 2016 federal prosecution of other gang members.

Romero-Aguirre was charged and taken into custody in January 2017. State Superior Court Judge Regina Caulfield set bail at $1.5 million.

Sentencing in the case has been scheduled for Friday, Nov. 9 before state Superior Court Judge Candido Rodriguez, at which time the state will recommend a term of 16 years in state prison, with at least 85 percent of that time to be served before the possibility of parole under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act.

• See Related: MS-13 Gang Threat In NJ: Here's Where They've Been Found

(Image via Shutterstock)

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