MS-13 Member Pleads Guilty To Murder Of 3 Men: Feds

BRENTWOOD, NY — A member of the deadly MS-13 street gang pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to his role in three murders between 2013 and 2015, according to prosecutors.

Jhonny Contreras, 28, of Brentwood, a member of the Brentwood Locos Salvatruchas clique of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the transnational gang MS-13, pleaded guilty to racketeering and related firearms charges in connection with his participation in the May 26, 2013 murder of Derrick Mayes, the May 28, 2013 murder of Keenan Russell, and the November 19, 2015 murder of Cesar Rivera-Vasquez, according to Breon Peace, scting United States attorney for the eastern district of New York.

“These murders are a grim reminder of the violence and lack of regard for human
life that MS-13 exudes — killing innocent people simply because they are wearing a certain color
or are believed to be from a rival gang,” said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison.

According to prior court filings and Contreras' statements during the plea proceeding, on May 26, 2013, Contreras and another MS-13 member armed themselves with a .25 caliber handgun and 20-gauge shotgun and drove around Central Islip in a stolen minivan looking for rival gang members to kill.

While on Wilson Boulevard, Contreras and his co-conspirator observed Mayes, a man who they did not know and wrongly assumed to be a member of the Bloods street gang because he was wearing an article of red clothing, officials said.

The MS-13 members approached Mayes and shot him multiple times, killing him, prosecutors said.

The following night, Contreras and several other MS-13 members, who were armed with the same .25 caliber handgun and 20-gauge shotgun, as well as a 9mm handgun, again drove around Central Islip in the stolen minivan and other vehicles, looking for rival gang members to kill, prosecutors said.

They observed Russell outside of a house party on Acorn Street, again mistakenly assumed him to be a member of the Bloods, prosecutors said.

The MS-13 members approached Russell and opened fire with the weapons, killing him, officials said.

Later, the MS-13 members learned that the minivan had been linked to the murders and they
agreed to destroy it, officials said. Contreras and several other gang members drove the minivan to a wooded area in Ronkonkoma, wiped it down to remove any fingerprints, doused it with gasoline, and set it on fire, feds said.

In addition, Contreras admitted during his guilty plea on Tuesday to participating in the
murder of Cesar Rivera-Vasquez, prosecutors said.

On November 19, 2015, Contreras and his co-conspirators saw Rivera-Vasquez at a deli near the Babylon Long Island Railroad station, officials said. Contreras and the other MS-13 members convinced the him to leave with them to smoke marijuana and brought him to an isolated area behind a nearby baseball field, prosecutors said.

The gang members, who were armed with knives and a baseball bat, told the victim to take off his shirt so they could observe a tattoo they believed signified the victim’s membership in the rival Mexican gang, Raza Loca, officials said.

After observing the tattoo, Contreras and the other MS-13 members attacked Rivera-Vasquez, beating him with the bat and stabbing him repeatedly with knives before one of the co-conspirators took one of the knives and cut his throat, prosecutors said. MS-13 members then buried Rivera-Vasquez's body near a large mound of dirt, officials said.

His body was not discovered until April 2018.

“We offer our sympathy to the victims’ families and loved ones who join the tragic community of those devastated by gun violence, and hope today’s plea will bring some measure of closure on their path to healing," said Peace.

When sentenced, Contreras faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, officials said.

MS-13's presence has existed on Long Island for more than two decades and has roots in Los Angeles and Central America. Between January 2016 and July 2017, at least 17 people were murdered by the gang, according to The New York Times.