BALTIMORE, MD—A federal jury has convicted three members of the MS-13 gang for their roles in two murders and multiple attempted murders, according to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland.
The three men—Wilson Arturo Constanza-Galdomez, 26, of El Salvador; Edis Omar Valenzuela-Rodriguez, 24, of Honduras; and Jonathan Pesquera-Puerto, 24, of Honduras—were found guilty of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise and murder in aid of racketeering.
According to court documents and trial evidence, the defendants were members of MS-13, a transnational criminal organization. They were required to commit violent acts to increase their status within the gang. Prosecutors said that the gang had a rivalry with the 18th Street Gang in the Baltimore area.
“The MS-13 gang continues to show a total disregard for human life,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly O. Hayes. “These defendants’ commitment to carrying out multiple vicious attacks and murders, including the killing of a 16-year-old girl, is unconscionable.”
The convictions stem from a series of violent acts committed between June 2019 and October 2021.
THE VIOLENT CRIMES
On May 29, 2020, the defendants and other gang members lured 16-year-old Gabriela Gonzalez-Ardon to an area near Loch Raven Reservoir in Cockeysville, Maryland. They suspected she was associating with a rival gang. The group then struck and stabbed her with a machete multiple times, killing her.
On June 5, 2020, Constanza-Galdomez and Valenzuela-Rodriguez lured Michelle Tenezaca to a location near the CSX Bayview Train Yard in Baltimore, suspecting she was a rival gang member who cooperated with law enforcement. They killed her, stabbing her 143 times. Gang members then reported the murder to MS-13 leadership to receive credit and elevate their status.
The defendants were also involved in several attempted murders. On April 25, 2020, they assaulted a man they believed to be a rival gang member, striking him multiple times with machetes. On June 6, 2020, they conspired to murder a man who had disputes with the gang and his girlfriend. The girlfriend was stabbed more than 70 times, while the man was stabbed multiple times with knives. Both victims survived.
THE VERDICT
- Constanza-Galdomez was convicted of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise and two counts of murder in aid of racketeering. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison.
- Valenzuela-Rodriguez was convicted of the same charges and also faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison.
- Pesquera-Puerto was convicted of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise and one count of murder in aid of racketeering, also facing a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison.
Sentencing will be determined by a federal judge at a later date.
Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels
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