On Tuesday, five members of the MS-13 gang were convicted for their involvement in a series of brutal murders aimed at elevating their status within the gang. Victims were brutally beaten, strangled, and in some cases, their bodies were discarded off cliffs in secluded, mountainous areas near Los Angeles.
A Los Angeles County jury found Walter Chavez Larin, 26; Roberto Alejandro Corado Ortiz, 30; and Edwin Martinez, 28, guilty of conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act after a nine-week trial, according to the Justice Department.
In addition to the RICO charges, Chavez and Corado were each convicted on two counts of violent crimes in aid of racketeering (VICAR) murder, while Martinez was convicted of three VICAR murder counts. Bryan Alexander Rosales Arias, 28, was also convicted of a VICAR murder charge.
Erick Eduardo Rosales Arias, 27, the brother of Bryan Rosales, was similarly found guilty of one VICAR murder count.
MS-13 gang graffiti marks a building in Los Angeles, symbolizing the presence of the notorious gang whose five members were recently convicted of murder. (John Alle/Santa Monica Coalition)
“We are grateful to the jury for delivering quick guilty verdicts against these MS-13 offenders who committed heinous acts of violence and murder,” stated First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “I commend our law enforcement partners for their dedication to removing these gang members from our communities. MS-13 is a merciless and violent gang that we are determined to eradicate from the United States, and we will not rest until our mission is accomplished.”
The defendants committed at least six murders of members of the rival 18th Street gang or MS-13 members who had violated the gang’s rules, federal prosecutors said.
Many of the victims were beaten and killed with baseball bats, machetes and knives in or near the Angeles National Forest.
In June 2017, one victim – who claimed he had a leadership role in MS-13 – was taken to the Angeles National Forest and stabbed and hacked to death by his killers, including Chavez, prosecutors said. Several of the assailants unsuccessfully tried to decapitate him before leaving his body behind.
In October 2017, another victim – rumored to be an 18th Street member – was lured to his death by two teenage girls. He was kidnapped, strangled, beaten with a baseball bat then fatally stabbed with a large hunting-style knife. Before his body was thrown off a cliff in the Angeles National Forest. This victim’s assailants included Corado and Bryan Rosales.
Sign for Angeles National Forest, California. (Getty ImagesThe Angeles N)
In July 2018, a third victim was lured to the hills near Malibu under the ruse of smoking marijuana and drinking beer with several other people.
While the victim stood at a scenic overlook, Corado shot him in the back of the head. Corado gave the gun to Erick Rosales, who shot the victim before passing the gun to other MS-13 members who took turns shooting him, authorities said.
The victim’s body ultimately was thrown off the edge of a road down a hill.
Prosecutors said Martinez murdered three victims – one of them was shot to death in December 2018 after returning from the gym and was mistaken for an 18th Street gang member. Another was an MS-13 associate addicted to methamphetamine, a violation of the gang’s rules, who was fatally shot on Jan. 13, 2019. A third was a homeless man who was fatally shot on Jan. 14, 2019 for having a tattoo believed to be related to 18th Street gang.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the violence “underscores the urgency of destroying MS-13 and putting its depraved members behind bars.”
“Under President Trump, MS-13 can no longer unleash terror on the American people with impunity: We will eradicate this foreign terrorist organization and secure justice for its victims,” she said.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman noted the gang’s penchant for violence and its impact on communities in the region.
“MS-13 has inflicted unimaginable suffering on victims and their families in our communities,” he said.
A sentencing hearing for those convicted Tuesday is scheduled for July 2026.
