Marlon Saracay-Lopez displaying an MS-13 tattoo; Ismael Santos-Novoa displaying an MS13 gang sign with a firearm in his waistband; Juan Amaya-Ramirez displaying a firearm and a machete; Tito Martinez-Alvarenga displaying an MS13 gang sign; Juan Amaya-Ramirez displaying an MS-13 gang sign: Photos courtesy of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York
May 14, 2020 By Christian Murray
Ten MS-13 members have been charged with a slew of violent crimes ranging from murder to firearms offences, according to federal investigators.
The men, nine from Queens and one from California, are allegedly responsible for three murders that took place in the borough, an attempted murder, fire arms offences and a federal racketeering charge. The complaints were unsealed today in Brooklyn federal court.
“The murders and crimes of violence allegedly committed by these defendants are trademark MS-13 offenses—cold-blooded, senseless and brutally violent—and pose a grave danger to the residents of our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue in a statement.
The first murder took place in Kissena Park on April 23, 2018 when Juan Amaya-Ramirez allegedly killed 17-year-old Andy Peralta after he mistakenly believed the victim was a member of the Latin Kings gang. Amaya-Ramirez, along with two other MS-13 members, allegedly beat, stabbed and strangled Peralta to death.
The men then took a photograph of Peralta’s corpse while displaying MS-13 gang signs in the photo. The defendants thought Peralta was a member of the Latin Kings since he had a tattoo on his chest that resembled that gang’s insignia.
The second murder took place on Nov. 4, 2018 when MS-13 associates Douglas Melgar-Suriano and Jairo Martinez-Garcia allegedly shot Victor Alvarenga near his home in Flushing. The men followed Alvarenga who was walking down the street and shot him multiple times in the head and body, authorities said.
The third killing occurred on Feb. 3, 2019 when Ramiro Gutierrez and gang associates Tito Martinez-Alvarenga and Victor Lopez allegedly murdered Abel Mosso on the 90th Street subway platform in Jackson Heights.
The defendants, according to the charges, believed Mosso was a member of the rival 18th Street gang. They followed the victim onto the 7 train at the Main Street station in Flushing, before assaulting him on the train and dragging him onto the 90th Street platform.
Gutierrez, after a tussle on the platform, shot Mosso multiple times, killing him. Authorities say the defendant yelled to horrified onlookers: “Nobody get involved, we’re MS-13, we’re going to kill him.”
A video of the incident was posted to Facebook at the time. It went viral.
Prosecutors have also charged three other men—also believed to be part of MS-13—for attempting to shoot a member of the 18th Street gang on Aug. 25, 2019 in Jackson Heights. Marlon Saracay-Lopez, Ismael Santos-Novoa and alleged gang associate Victor Ramirez were involved and they shot an innocent bystander in the leg in their botched murder attempt, authorities said.
Saracay-Lopez, Santos-Novoa and associate Emerson Martinez-Lara were also alleged to be involved in conspiring to kill a fellow MS-13 member who failed to kill a rival gang member as ordered.
If convicted of the murders, Amaya-Ramirez, Melgar-Suriano, Martinez-Garcia, Gutierrez, Martinez-Alvarenga and Lopez—all from Flushing– face mandatory sentences of life in prison with the possibility of the death penalty.
If convicted of the firearms and attempted murder charges, Saracay-Lopez of Compton, Calif.; Santos-Novoa from Flushing; and Ramirez from Elmhurst face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison. Martinez-Lara of College Point faces up to 15 years in prison for murder conspiracy.
“Public executions are just another sobering example of the savagery that MS-13 engages in with the alleged criminal mayhem caused by those charged today,” said Peter Fitzhugh, the agent in charge for Homeland Security.
“Law enforcement at all levels will continue to use all available resources, aggressively exploit all available intelligence and work as a unified team with a singular goal—ridding the scourge of MS-13 from our communities,” Fitzhugh added.
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10 Comments
Hopefully they will be released from prison without bail and because of the CV19. Thanks to hug a thug deblassio , Costa, and Donovan Richards.
Who would win a fight? The Latin kings or ms-13
the Justice Dept can prosecute every gang member as part of a corrupt organization under the RICO statute…they just choose to use it almost exclusively against Italians…they need to target street gangs who are moving all the narcotics on a street level…they are a danger to the general public
I have the perfect solution to eradicate gangs. Make it a 20 year automatic prison sentence if your part of a gang and also make it part of the RICO statute where you can prosecute every gang member as part of a corrupt organization. Watch crime drop by at least 30%.
The previous commenter is an example of all that is wrong with the United States. He might as well equate all European Americans with Hitler.
That said, the criminals mentioned in the article are terrorists and should be punished accordingly. The death penalty should be used very sparingly, but in this case the state would be justified in using it.
But the media keeps portraying Latinos as innocent, hard working people who deserve victimhood status in this country.
Just another example or how they bring down society and the quality of life in the US.
What an ignorant & predjudical comment, a comment that tries to slur all Latin people. It;s a shame that you have no shame in expressing such hatred.
There are criminals among every group in our society, from preachers to politicans, and they come from every race, color, creed and sex. And the well-to-do and well- connected tend to get away with it much more often.
From the sound of it , you yourself are not a sterling representative of your particular social group my friend.
I feel sorry for you and the blind hatred burning in your heart, the hatred that both warps you and hurts others.
Treat others like you would want to be treated.
I do treat others as I expect to be treated, but the same can’t be said for Latinos, especially the ones here in Queens.
Their sense of entitlement and disdain for people who aren’t like them is appalling. They expect to be catered to in terms of government assistance and everything translated to Spanish language.
Would it kill these people to take personal accountability and learn English. They live in the US, where everyone else makes an effort to assimilate to a standard language and culture. What makes Latinos special? They’re only succeeding in perpetuating stereotypes.
These gang members are rotten to the core and representative of their culture and their upbringing. If their parents cared about them and raised them well, they wouldn’t be in a gang.
They’re not shooting up schools, just each others, I could deal with that
This article is about MS-13, a gang, not about Latinos as a whole. I’m sorry you lack the critical thinking skills to see that.