Two MS-13 Gang Members Sentenced for Murder Conspiracy

Two La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang members were sentenced for conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering in connection with their participation in the Weedams Locos Salvatrucha (WLS) clique of the MS-13 gang. Jorge Isaac Argueta Chica, aka Timido and Enano, 23, of Gaithersburg was sentenced last week to six years in prison. Endy Arturo Gaitan Campos, aka Clandestino, 30, of Hyattsville, Maryland, was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison.

Per the U.S. Dept. of Justice: On August 8, 2020, Campos, and other WLS members, including WLS leader Brayan Torres and Franklyn Sanchez, were gathered at a park in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where they agreed to murder Victim 4, who was suspected of cooperating with law enforcement and to whom Sanchez owed a debt.  Campos told another MS-13 member that he would have to help commit the murder.  Campos then drove Torres, Sanchez and other WLS members to a wooded area nearby and dropped them off.  Sanchez was armed with a revolver and Torres handed a second revolver to the other MS-13 member, instructing that person to shoot first when Victim 4 arrived.  When Victim 4 arrived, Sanchez and the other MS-13 member each fired multiple shots at Victim 4, who fell to the ground.  Sanchez then pistol-whipped and stabbed Victim 4 and Torres also stabbed Victim 4.  Torres and other WLS members dragged Victim 4’s body to a stream and left it there.

One of the MS-13 members at the scene of the murder placed the two guns used to shoot Victim 4 and several other items into a dark bag and Campos drove the MS-13 member back to Torres’s house where other gang members, including Argueta Chica, were waiting.

As he was leaving the woods, Sanchez noticed he was bleeding and was concerned that his DNA may have been left on the body.  To prevent the discovery of DNA or other evidence and to hinder the investigation and prosecution of Victim 4’s murder, Torres called other WLS members, including co-defendant Agustino Eugenio Rivas Rodriguez, and ordered them to bring shovels to dig a hole and bury Victim 4’s body.  Campos backed his car into the driveway of Torres’s house and parked in front of the garage.  WLS members loaded shovels into Campos’s car and Campos drove Rivas Rodriguez and other WLS members to the wooded area.  WLS members, including Argueta Chica then dug a hole and buried Victim 4’s body.  Law enforcement later recovered the body with a bullet wound to the head.

Argueta Chica also participated in the collection of extortion payments, or “rents,” from at least two extortion victims on behalf of WLS, knowing that the victims making extortion payments did so under the threat of death or bodily injury by members of WLS.

Co-defendants Brayan Alexander Torres, a/k/a “Spooky,” age 29, and Franklyn Edgardo Sanchez, a/k/a “Delinquente,” age 26, both of Adelphi, Maryland, were each sentenced to 28 years in federal prison and Agustino Eugenio Rivas Rodriguez, a/k/a “Terrible,” age 25, of Silver Spring, Maryland was sentenced 16 years in federal prison for their roles in the racketeering conspiracy.

According to court documents, MS-13 is an international criminal organization composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, with members operating throughout the United States. MS-13 members are organized in “cliques,” smaller groups that operate in a specific city or region, and are required to commit acts of violence, both to maintain membership and discipline within the gang and against rivals. One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, known as “chavalas,” whenever possible. MS-13 members earn promotions and improved standing within the gang for participating in attacks on rival gang members, often at the direction of MS-13 leadership.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland, Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the FBI Baltimore Field Office, Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore, and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department made the announcement.

The FBI, HSI, and Prince George’s County Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and the Montgomery County Police Department.

Trial Attorney Christopher Taylor of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Crespo for the District of Maryland prosecuted the case.