Latest news with #LaMaraSalvatrucha
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Court documents: Kilmar Abrego Garcia accused of years-long conspiracy transporting undocumented aliens to the US
MARYLAND () — Court documents unsealed by a federal court in Tennessee Friday accuse Kilmar Abrego Garcia of facilitating the unlawful transportation of undocumented individuals to and throughout the United States for nearly a decade. The documents claim Abrego Garcia was a member and associate of La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) — a claim his family and advocates have disputed since his wrongful deportation more than two months ago. Since his deportation in March, Abrego Garcia had been imprisoned at a Salvadorian facility, with Trump administration officials fighting court rulings ordering his return. On June 6, news broke that he would be returning to the U.S. to Tennessee police release video of Kilmar Abrego Garcia traffic stop in 2022 Simon Sandoval Moshenberg, one of his attorneys, said the move is an abuse of power. 'The government disappeared Kilmar to a foreign prison in violation of a court order. Now, after months of delay and secrecy, they're bringing him back, not to correct their error but to prosecute him. Due process means the chance to defend yourself before you're punished, not after. This is an abuse of power, not justice,' he said during a press conference. From around 2016 through 2025, Abrego Garcia and others conspired to bring people from countries including Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Ecuador, passing through Mexico before crossing into Texas, the newly-released court documents stated. He and his co-conspirators knew the people they were transporting did not have authorization to enter the U.S., the Grand Jury alleged. Over the course of nearly a decade, they reportedly transported 'thousands of undocumented aliens who had no authorization to be present in the United States, and many of whom were MS-13 members and associates.' The conspirators included five Salvadorian citizens and one person from Guatemala, in addition to Abrego Garcia. They reportedly received thousands of dollars for the scheme. In 2021, one of the six conspirators was involved in the transportation of more than 150 migrants, which ended when the tractor-trailer carrying them overturned in Mexico. This resulted in the deaths of at least 50 migrants. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Investigators never arrested Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Prince George's County police clarify In addition to transporting undocumented immigrants and firearms at times, Abrego Garcia also transported narcotics from Texas to sell in Maryland, court documents claim. He sometimes brought close relatives with him when he picked up undocumented individuals in Texas. On other occasions, he came alone. When he did not bring a relative, he sometimes abused the women in the group, according to one of the conspirators. 'Knowing this was bad for business, [Co-Conspirator 6] reported these allegations of abuse … to [Co-Conspirator 1 and Co-Conspirator 2] and CC-6 directed CC-1 and CC-2 to cause [Abrego Garcia] to stop the abuse,' court documents read. On Nov. 30, 2022, a state trooper with the Tennessee Highway Patrol stopped a Chevrolet Suburban on I-40. Abrego Garcia was reportedly driving and had nine passengers, all of whom were Hispanic men and none of whom had identification, according to court documents. When asked where they were coming from, Abrego Garcia reportedly told the trooper they were in St. Louis for two weeks doing construction and were on their way back to Maryland. The trooper noted that none of the passengers had luggage, nor were there any tools or construction equipment. Court documents claim Abrego Garcia had given the trooper false information and that license plate reader data showed the Suburban had not been near St. Louis at any point in the last year, and had been in the Houston, Texas area within the week leading up to the traffic stop. Abrego Garcia was charged with two counts of Conspiracy to Transport Aliens for Financial Gain, for which he faces a maximum of 10 years per alien transported, according to charging documents. INITIAL COVERAGE: Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador due to 'administrative error,' court filings say Abrego Garcia came to the United States as a teenager back in 2011, fleeing gang threats in his home country of El Salvador. In 2019, he was arrested over an unfounded allegation that he was involved with MS-13, which placed him in deportation proceedings. However, an immigration judge ultimately found that Abrego Garcia was the one at risk of being a victim of gang violence. He and his relatives had testified that members were trying to extort them and recruit him and his brother to join. His family had been forced to move multiple times, ultimately leading Abrego Garcia and his brother to flee to the U.S. out of fear. The judge said Abrego Garcia would likely face persecution if deported, granting him a form of legally mandated protection: 'withholding of removal.' He had a permit from the Department of Homeland Security to legally work in the U.S. and was a sheet metal apprentice pursuing a journeyman license when ICE arrested him in March, his attorney told . His wife is also a U.S. citizen and they had been living in Maryland with their child. Kilmar-Abrego-Garcia-complaintDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Yahoo
MS-13 gangsters in Charlotte sentenced to prison in murder, racketeering cases
Three MS-13 gang members were sentenced Wednesday to decades in prison, the result of ongoing efforts to rid the region of violent criminal organizations, federal authorities said. Federal District Court Judge Mike Urbanski sentenced two men to 35 years for shooting a man to death in a Charlotte nightclub. After their imprisonment, they will be turned over to immigration authorities for removal from the United States because they do not have legal status to be in the country, Urbanski said Wednesday. Another man was sentenced to 17 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy (RICO) involving the kidnapping a teenager. That will be followed by three years of supervised release. 'This case has dismantled the local MS-13 clique, and we're not done,' United States Attorney Russ Ferguson said in a statement. 'Our goal is not just to prosecute violent gangs, but to eliminate them completely.' In September, Christian Alejandro Garcia Santa Cruz, 32, of El Salvador, and Aderly Jose Veliz-Ronquillo, 30, of Guatemala, pleaded guilty to killing a man outside a Charlotte nightclub in November 2022. The two members of the La Mara Salvatrucha gang, better known as MS-13, got into an argument with Wilson Edgardo Gutierrez Mejia on Nov. 6, federal prosecutor Erik Lindahl said. Santa Cruz and Veliz-Ronquillo were out with a group that night, the prosecutor said. Lindahl said Gutierrez Mejia shoved a gang member, Veliz-Ronquillo pulled out a gun and shot him in the head and Santa Cruz shot him three more times once he hit the ground. The killing offered them a chance at promotion within MS-13, Lindahl said. They were arrested in Annapolis, Maryland, Lindahl said. Neither had been convicted of a crime before. Memoranda provided by their attorneys to the court laid out Santa Cruz's harsh circumstances growing up in El Salvador and Veliz-Ronquillo's work history, among other things. Defense attorneys for the men acknowledged the crime's severity. 'This is just a heinous crime — a senseless crime,' Urbanski said. The plea deal the two men agreed to called for a longer prison stay than usual for their conviction, but other charges were dismissed. Had they been convicted of other crimes they were charged with, the minimum sentence would be life in prison. 'The young man that is present, right there, is a coward,' Gutierrez Mejia's father told the court with a translator's help during Santa Cruz's sentencing. He said his grandchildren still ask, 'Daddy, where are you?' He has trouble dealing with that, the father said. After Veliz-Ronquillo's sentencing, Urbanski approached the father. 'I'm a father, too, and I know how hard this is for you,' the judge told him. The father buried his face into a pew's rail and sobbed. Another defendant, Luis Fernando Guardardo Moreno, received 17 years in prison and three years on supervised release for his role in kidnapping a 17-year-old and holding her for ransom. It happened in February 2022, Lindahl said. MS-13 gangster Guardardo Moreno and other gang members rushed a man, beat him and took his Acura, the prosecutor said. A co-defendant forced a 17-year-old into the car, he said. They held her for ransom money, but she escaped, Lindahl said. Guardardo Moreno told the court he regretted his part in it. 'I regret my actions,' he said. 'I regret breaking the law. I regret it from the bottom of my heart.' The defendants were members of an MS-13 clique known as the Hollywood Locos Salvatrucha Clique (HLS clique), which operated in North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and elsewhere, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of North Carolina. Other MS-13 members who have pleaded guilty to crimes in the Charlotte area are awaiting sentencing, according to the news release.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Yahoo
Three MS-13 gang members sentenced for violent crimes in Charlotte, three others pled guilty
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Three members of the La Mara Salvatrucha gang, known as MS-13, were sentenced for engaging in violent acts, including murder, in Charlotte, according to the Department of Justice. According to court documents and proceedings, those involved were leaders and members of the MS-13 sub-unit known as the Hollywood Locos Salvatrucha Clique, which operated in and around North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C. and elsewhere. From December 2018 through November 2022, the defendants engaged in racketeering activities involving murder, kidnapping, extortion, robbery and drug trafficking. Documents show that on November 6, 2022, 32-year-old Christian Alejandro Garcia Santa Cruz, known as 'Crimen', of El Salvador, 33-year-old Santos Guillermo Ramirez Mancia, of El Salvador, and 30-year-old Aderly 'Chanchin' Jose Veliz-Ronquillo of Guatemala were at a nightclub in Charlotte. They had gotten into an argument with several men in the parking lot of the nightclub. Queen City News is tracking CRIME in your area 🚨 >> During the argument, Mancia identified himself as an MS-13. Mancia and another person shoved each other before Veliz-Ronquillo shot the other person. Santa-Cruz then shot the victim three more times. The victim died from their injuries. Officials say, participation in criminal activity was also intended to increase the respect and ranking of members within the gang, and to open the door to leadership positions. Accordingly, Santa Cruz and Veliz-Ronquillo committed murder in aid of racketeering to maintain and increase their position within the gang. Santa Cruz and Veliz-Ronquillo were each sentenced to 35 years for the shooting. Mancia pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing. Mancia held a leadership role within the gang. In addition to this case, another MS-13 member who also held a leadership role in the gang, Fredy Mauricio Buruca, 27, pleaded guilty to kidnapping a minor. Juan Francisco Sanchez Estrada, 31, of El Salvador, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy and will be sentenced at a later date, following a consolidation of federal cases against him. Lastly, Luis Fernando Guardardo Moreno, 24, of El Salvador, was sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for a racketeering (RICO) conspiracy. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
