WASHINGTON — Six men from Annapolis, Maryland whom prosecutors call members of the MS-13 gang were indicted Thursday on federal charges relating to a murder and an attempted murder in the city in 2016, as well as other charges.
The Baltimore U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement that the six men were charged with racketeering conspiracy; murder in aid of racketeering; violent crimes in aid of racketeering; use, carry and possession of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.
Their names and ages:
- Moises Alexis Reyes-Canales, 19;
- Marlon Cruz-Flores, 22;
- Fermin Gomez-Jimenez, 20;
- Manuel Martinez-Aguilar, age 19;
- Juan Carlos Sandoval-Rodriguez, 20;
- David Diaz-Alvarado, 20.
Prosecutors said that Sandoval-Rodriguez lured a member of a rival gang to an Annapolis park March 11, 2016, where he, Cruz-Flores, Gomez-Jimenez and Diaz-Alvarado killed the victim.
The prosecutors didn’t identify the victim. Jose Hernandez-Portillo, of Annapolis, disappeared March 11, 2016; his remains were found in Quiet Waters Park about two months later. Diaz-Alvarado and Sandoval-Rodriguez are facing state charges in his death.
Reyes-Canales, Cruz-Flores, Gomez-Jimenez and Martinez-Aguilar are also accused of trying to kill two people in Annapolis Oct. 23, 2016.
In both cases, the prosecutors said, the goal was “gaining entrance to, maintaining and increasing position in MS-13.”
Reyes-Canales, Cruz-Flores, Gomez-Jimenez, and Martinez-Aguilar are also charged with a racketeering conspiracy that included assaults, murder, attempted murder, robbery and drug trafficking from at least 2015 through 2017.
All the defendants are in custody. Their dates in court haven’t been set yet. The prosecutors said all but Cruz-Flores were living in Annapolis illegally.
