Jury finds alleged MS-13 members guilty of murder and racketeering in Nevada

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A jury convicted three men who prosecutors say were members of the violent MS-13 gang in a federal racketeering case involving nine killings in Las Vegas and Los Angeles between 2017 and 2018.

Jose Luis Reynaldo Reyes-Castillo, David Arturo Perez-Manchame and Joel Vargas-Escobar were found guilty of multiple charges, including murder and racketeering, after a 43-day jury trial, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada. They face a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison without parole. A fourth person, Alexander De Jesus Figueroa-Torres, had also been charged but agreed to a plea deal before the trial.

The jury did not return guilty verdicts on two other killings.

The verdict marks a major victory for the Trump administration and its efforts to crack down on a gang known for its brutal violence and extortion, though the massive case was years in the making, with the original 55-page indictment coming in 2021 under former President Joe Biden.

Last year an MS-13 leader was sentenced to 68 years in prison in a case involving eight killings in Long Island, New York. In El Salvador, nearly 500 accused members of MS-13 face a collective trial, despite concerns of due process.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a Monday statement that the FBI has prioritized “wiping out violent gangs” in the U.S.

“Today’s conviction is just the latest example — with three MS-13 gang members convicted of nine murders, kidnappings, drug trafficking, and more in Las Vegas," he said in the statement. "These gangs have terrorized our communities for far too long, and under this administration and law enforcement team, they are no longer allowed to operate with impunity in America. This FBI will continue working with our partners across the country to dismantle their presence coast to coast.”

The attorneys for the three defendants did not immediately return requests for comment.

MS-13 was formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s by Salvadoran immigrants and their descendants and has since spread in the U.S. and Central America.

During the trial that included dozens of witnesses, prosecutors said the defendants were part of an MS-13 clique that operated in Las Vegas and were responsible for the brutal killings of 11 men in Nevada and California. They also took part in assault, kidnapping, robbery, narcotics trafficking and illegally possessing firearms, the prosecutors said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanee Smith told jurors in her opening statement that the defendants committed the acts of violence to improve their ranking in the gang. The defendants believed the people they killed were members of the rival gang 18th Street, but it took very little to convince them that a victim was a rival gang member, such as a person wearing baggy clothes or having long hair, Smith said.

“Eleven people are dead; 51 gunshot wounds, 537 stab wounds, 24 choppings. Those are just some of the injuries you are going to hear about in this trial," Smith told the jurors.

In 2018, Reyes-Castillo and Perez-Manchame also were indicted in the 2018 killing of Arquimidez Sandoval-Martinez, a 21-year-old Salvadoran in Las Vegas. The jury found Reyes-Castillo guilty in that killing on Monday, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Members of the MS-13 gang who participated in the crimes pleaded guilty and agreed to testify in the trial. Defense attorneys argued the cooperating witnesses were not credible, telling the government what it wanted to hear for lesser sentences and trying to shift blame.

“This case comes down to whether you, the jury, can rely on testimony from men not only hoping but expecting to get reduced sentences by convincing the government that they have been useful," said Attorney Andrea Luem, representing Perez-Manchame.

Luem said Perez-Manchame “jumped out of the gang” in 2017 and that “mere association is not evidence of guilt."

Richard Wright, attorney for Reyes-Castillo, said Reyes-Castillo is a member of MS-13 but denied his participation in the offenses. Nathan Chambers, representing Vargas-Escobar, said his client was no longer in Las Vegas by January 2018 and said there is no physical evidence connecting Vargas-Escobar to the crimes.

The jury convicted all three on one count of conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Reyes-Castillo was found guilty of eight counts of murder in aid of racketeering, five counts of kidnapping in aid of racketeering, one count of attempted murder in aid of racketeering and multiple firearms related charges.

Perez-Manchame was convicted of two counts of murder and two counts of kidnappings in aid of racketeering. The jury convicted Vargas-Escobar of one count of murder and one count of causing death through the use of a firearm.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 10.