MS-13 gang growing extremely dangerous, FBI says


MS-13 member who helped kill Ohio teen with a machete dies in troubled Brooklyn prison​



By
Sam Raskin


May 22, 2022 2:01pm
Updated









MS-13 member who helped kill Ohio teen with a machete dies in troubled Brooklyn prison






An MS-13 member serving a more than 17-year sentence for participating in a 2015 gang-related killing of an Ohio teenager died early Sunday in a troubled federal lockup in Brooklyn, authorities said.
Erasmo Humberto Lima-Martinez, 35, was found unresponsive at 12:51 a.m. in the Metropolitan Detention Center, the Federal Bureau of Prisons announced Sunday.
Medics rushed the inmate to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the BOP. Sources told Associated Press reporter Mike Balsamo that Lima-Martinez died by suicide.
Lima-Martinez had been detained in the Sunset Park facility since May 3, the BOP said.
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He pleaded guilty in 2019 for his role in the slaying of 17-year-old high school student Wilson Villeda in Columbus, Ohio.

MS-13 gang member Erasmo Humberto Lima-Martinez was found dead in custody at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.MS-13 gang member Erasmo Humberto Lima-Martinez was found dead in custody at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.Paul Martinka
Villeda, a native of El Salvador, was considered to be affiliated with a rival gang, prompting MS-13 leaders in the Central American country to sign off on his murder.


Members of the bloodthirsty gang, including Lima-Martinez, took Villeda to a park, where they hacked him to death with machetes and other blades, before dumping his body in a wooded area, according to the the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.


One of Villeda’s arms was severed, the Columbus Dispatch reported at the time, citing court records. People walking their dogs in the park discovered Villeda’s body in a shallow grave in December 2015, according to the local newspaper.

Lima-Martinez was serving a 17-year sentence for killing high school student Wilson Villeda in Columbus, Ohio in 2015.Lima-Martinez was serving a 17-year sentence for killing high school student Wilson Villeda in Columbus, Ohio in 2015.MARVIN RECINOS/AFP via Getty Images
Lima-Martinez, also known “Tun Tun,” was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison for murder in aid of racketeering.


He was among 23 people charged in a February 2018 indictment for being alleged members and associates of MS-13 in Columbus. Lima-Martinez also participated in trafficking cocaine, marijuana and heroin for the gang, according to federal prosecutors.









His death is the latest fatality in the notorious federal jail, where more than 1,700 people are detained.


In June 2020, an inmate at the MDC died after being pepper sprayed by prison officers. A federal lawsuit filed in June 2021 by the family of the inmate charged that Brooklyn jail guards stood by as he “slowly died” and did not properly respond to his mental health episode.


In 2019, a group of lawyers filed a lawsuit about the “humanitarian crisis” at the jail that had left prisoners without electricity or heat for weeks. The conditions in the detention facility at the time prompted a Department of Justice probe.


Amid the power outage, a former warden at the jail, Cameron Lindsay, told the New York Times that in the past decade has been “one of the most troubled, if not the most troubled facility in the Bureau of Prisons.”


The deaths comes a month after federal prosecutors threatened to place the New York City’s beleaguered jail system under control of a receivership if dangerous and dysfunctional conditions at Rikers Island do not improve.
 




MS-13 member sentenced to 25 years for Long Island machete slaying​



By
Ben Feuerherd


July 12, 2022 4:43pm
Updated








Yes, so in the initial case filing,
LA County Deputy District Catherine Mariano comments on Pearce and Osborn case











An MS-13 gang member who helped hack a 15-year-old rival to death with a machete after luring him to a secluded Long Island park was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a federal judge on Tuesday.
Eduardo Portillo, 25, pleaded guilty in September 2021 to racketeering and admitted to trafficking drugs on behalf of MS-13 and to participating in the 2016 killing of Javier Castillo in Cow Meadow Park in Freeport.
Oct. 10, 2016, Portillo and other Brentwood-based members of MS-13 suspected Castillo was a member of the 18th Street gang, their chief rival, and convinced the teen to ride with them to Freeport to smoke pot.
They brought Castillo to a marsh area of Cow Meadow Park, where they attacked him, taking turns slashing with machetes until he died, the feds said.
The gangsters then dug a shallow grave in the park and dumped the teen’s body in it, prosecutors said.
Federal authorities tracked Portillo down in El Salvador and extradited him to the US in 2020 so he could face the racketeering charge, which was brought by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Javier CastilloJavier Castillo was killed in 2016 after MS-13 gang members lured him into a Long Island park and attacked him with a machete.
Law enforcement officials lauded the sentencing after it was handed down Tuesday.
“With today’s sentence, Portillo learned there are very serious consequences for participating in the planning and execution of a murder so that he could gain membership in the MS-13 gang, a vicious criminal enterprise whose members have no regard for human life or the rule of law,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
“Today’s sentencing sends another clear message that gang violence will not be tolerated and the extradition of this suspect proves law enforcement will go to great lengths to ensure justice is served,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison added.
 












Man is held hostage in sex-fueled LI plot apparently tied to MS-13: prosecutors​



By
Amanda Woods


August 23, 2022 3:47pm
Updated









New Yorkers reflect on crime and safety in the city



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Two men accused of robbing and holding a guy hostage in his pickup truck on Long Island over the weekend were part of a sex-fueled plot apparently tied to the bloodthirsty MS-13 gang, prosecutors say.
Tylor Salmeron, 19, and Yonathan Hernandez, 23, both alleged MS-13 members, held the 48-year-old man against his will and robbed and threatened to kill him Saturday in Jericho in Nassau County, according to authorities.
A 16-year-old girl also was allegedly involved in the scheme, though her role wasn’t immediately clear.
Tylor Salmeron, 19, (left), and Yonathan Hernandez, 23 (right), both alleged MS-13 members, were two of the suspects who prosecutors and police say held a 48-year-old man against his will Saturday in Jericho, Nassau County. Tylor Salmeron (left), 19, and Yonathan Hernandez, 23, both alleged MS-13 members, were two of the suspects who authorities say held a 48-year-old man against his will Saturday on Long Island. Nassau County Police Department
The suspects had first lured the victim to a room at the Edgewood Motel “under the guise of engaging in sexual acts,” according to a criminal complaint and police.
Hernandez then tried to stab the victim with a knife, and Salmeron struck him in the left shoulder with a machete, demanding that he fork over some dough, authorities said.
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The suspects allegedly used a machete and knife during the Saturday scheme. The suspects allegedly used a machete and knife during the Saturday scheme. Nassau County Police Department
The victim handed over $300, but that did not satisfy his attackers — who continued to strike him and grabbed his phone, wallet and car keys, according to the charging document.

They led him out of the room at knifepoint to the parking lot and forced him into the back seat of his Ford F150 truck, the complaint says.

Hernandez then sat in the driver’s seat and drove both suspects as well as the victim to a Chase Bank ATM, authorities said.

The suspects allegedly forced the victim to provide the PIN number for his ATM card.

Hernandez used the card to withdraw $1,000 from the victim͛’s account, according to the complaint.

The suspects continued driving with their victim after informing him “that they intended to kill him because he had no more money and he had seen their faces,” the court document alleges.

“They pretty much held [the victim] prisoner,” a police source previously told The Post. “They were trying to get money out of him. They had weapons, so who knows what they were thinking.”

The scheme unraveled at Cambridge Avenue and Warren Street in Westbury, authorities said.

Officers pulled over the Ford truck after it rolled through a stop sign, and officers noticed that one of the passengers — the victim — looked distressed, officials said.

The suspects allegedly lured the 48-year-old victim to the Edgewood Motel  “under the guise of engaging in sexual acts.The suspects allegedly lured the 48-year-old victim to the Edgewood Motel “under the guise of engaging in sexual acts.”WABC-TV Officers unraveled the scheme during a routine traffic stop, cops said.Officers unraveled the scheme during a routine traffic stop, cops said.WABC-TV
“His face was like ‘Help me. Help me.’ He looked very distraught,” the police source said.

After everyone was ordered out of the vehicle, Salmeron began to run and threw a large machete hidden in his shorts onto the ground, authorities said.







Hernandez also was found with a “box cutter type knife” hidden in his pants, according to the court papers.

Police were able to catch both men and the 16-year-old girl.

The suspects were charged with raps including kidnapping in the second degree and robbery in the first degree, as well as criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree and conspiracy in the fourth degree.

The trio was arraigned Sunday, prosecutors said.

Salmeron’s bail was set at $500,000 bond, $250,000 cash and $1 million partially secured bond.

Both Hernandez and the teen girl were ordered held on $250,000 bond, $100,000 cash, and $500,000 partially secured bond.

 

San Francisco MS-13 leader sentenced to life in prison for murder and racketeering​

Alex Baker
January 9, 2024·3 min read
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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The leader of the San Francisco clique of the MS-13 street gang has been sentenced to life in prison on murder and racketeering charges, according to the United States Department of Justice. Elmer “Gordo” Rodriguez was convicted on June 1, 2023, following a three-week jury trial.

His sentence was handed down Tuesday by the Honorable Richard Seeborg, Chief U.S. District Judge.

Rodriguez was convicted of charges that included:

  • Racketeering conspiracy
  • Two counts of murder in aid of racketeering
  • One count of attempted murder in aid of racketeering
  • One count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence
“For years, the defendant led a violent street gang that committed several murders and attempted murders in the Bay Area, particularly in the Mission District of San Francisco,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Robbins. “San Francisco residents deserve to feel safe in their own communities. Today’s sentence sends a clear message that anyone who commits acts of violence and endangers public safety in the Northern District of California will face federal prosecution and a severe federal prison sentence as a consequence of their conduct.”

San Rafael woman arrested for homicide in fatal stabbing of mother

In evidence presented at the trial, it was revealed that Rodriguez ordered the murder of Jorge Martinez near 19th and Mission Streets on March 17, 2017. According to the DOJ, Martinez had been celebrating his birthday after attending a Golden State Warriors game with his son.

After the game, he went to a bar in the Mission District. Rodriguez and other MS-13 members were there and identified Martinez as a possible rival Norteño gang member. He ordered another MS-13 member to murder Martinez. The gang associate followed Martinez out of the bar and shot him to death.

Further evidence showed that Rodriguez ordered the murder of Giovanni “P Wee” Alvarez on May 25, 2017. Alvarez was described as a “20th Street clique member” who Rodriguez and others believed was cooperating with law enforcement.

Rodriguez and his associates, Edwin “Muerte” Alvarado Amaya and Kenneth “Nesio” Campos, lured Alvarez into a car. Campos drove the group to Bernal Heights Park. At the park, Rodriguez gave a signal to Alvarado Amaya, who hacked Alvarez to death “by inflicting dozens of deep wounds to his face and torso with a machete,” the DOJ said.

Alvarado Amaya and Campos have pled guilty and been sentenced for their roles in the murder.

Further evidence of acts of violence committed by Rodriguez presented at trial included:

  • Attempted murder and use of a firearm stemming from a shotgun shooting followed an extortion attempt in the Tenderloin on Nov. 26, 2017
  • Ordering gang members to go on a “hunt” to shoot suspected Norteños, culminating in the Sept. 16, 2016 shooting of a suspected Norteño at 21st Street and Hampshire Street
  • Attending an Oct. 27, 2016, gang assault in the Mission District
  • Instigating a May 17, 2017, gang assault outside a Mission District taqueria
  • Serving as a driver in a Nov. 30, 2017, attempted murder in which MS-13 members repeatedly stabbed a victim incorrectly identified as a Norteño
In total, the DOJ said, 17 defendants have been convicted as a result of this investigation. This has resulted in convictions for four murders, four attempted murders, and multiple assaults with dangerous weapons.

There is no parole in the federal system.
 
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