Four members of the notorious MS-13 gang have received sentences in federal court for their involvement in the murders of three individuals during a violent spree in Southern California back in 2017. The brutality of these crimes was shocking; it involved mutilation, including the removal of victims’ hearts and dismemberment of their bodies, which were subsequently discarded in a ravine.
The four individuals sentenced include Angel Amadeo Guzman, 31, and Fernando Garcia Parada, 28, both from Panorama City, Edgardo Velazquez, 43, from Reseda, and Jose Jonathan Castillo, 34, from Koreatown. They all returned to federal custody following their sentencing.
All four have been convicted of racketeering conspiracy and violent crimes that supported racketeering, including murder. Prosecutors noted that these killings were committed in line with MS-13’s code, which emphasizes extreme violence as a means for members to elevate their status within the gang.
The gang operates through local factions, such as the Fulton gang in the San Fernando Valley and the Francis gang in the MacArthur Park area. Their operations are often funded through drug trafficking, extortion, and robbery, among other illicit activities.
According to prosecutors, the men were involved in three distinct homicides that occurred between March and June 2017, primarily around the Angeles National Forest. The first incident unfolded in March when a victim was accused of vandalizing graffiti belonging to a rival gang.
Prosecutors revealed that Edgardo Velasquez greenlit this murder, and Guzman, along with Garcia Parada and other gang members, abducted the victim, rendered him unconscious, and then transported him to the forest. There, they attacked him with machetes, mutilated his body, and disposed of it in a ravine.
In April of the same year, the group targeted another man who had fled El Salvador, under suspicion of cooperating with law enforcement. Using fake Facebook accounts posing as teenage girls, gang members lured this individual into the woods, where he ultimately met his end.
The last murder occurred in June 2017 when Castillo, Garcia Parada, and others targeted MS-13 members accused of inflating their status within the gang. This victim, too, was taken to the forest, where he was fatally stabbed.
U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. has set a sentencing date for October 20. Each defendant could potentially face life sentences in federal prison.
Overall, prosecutors mentioned that this case has led to over 30 convictions linked to the gang, and in November, five more MS-13 members were convicted of related murders aimed at improving their standing within the gang. Sentencing for these individuals is anticipated in the upcoming months.
