WASHINGTON — A Severn, Maryland, man with connections to the MS-13 gang pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to a violent racketeering conspiracy that includes attempted murder.
Jose Augustin Salmeron-Larios, 25, could get up to life in prison.
He admitted to charges of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise; attempted murder in aid of racketeering; and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime.
Prosecutors say that Salmeron-Larios admitted to “numerous acts.” In April 2015, for instance, he was a co-conspirator in a Hyattsville, Maryland, shooting that disfigured and disabled the victim.
“Salmeron-Larios participated in the shooting in order to gain entrance to, maintain and increase his position in MS-13,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
Prosecutors said Salmeron-Larios also admitted that he traveled to Florida in January 2016 and obtained firearms that were later distributed to MS-13 members in Maryland. During that time, he also possessed and distributed cocaine and other controlled substances “for the benefit of MS-13.”
And in June 2016, prosecutors said, Salmeron-Larios helped coordinate an MS-13 attack on suspected rival gang members.
“Salmeron-Larios’s arrest and conviction have dealt a significant blow to MS-13 in Maryland,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.
He is set to be sentenced Dec. 7.
