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PREVIOUS COVERAGE: MS-13 gang members charged in series of murders
Federal authorities on Monday announced charges filed against?22 people?linked to the MS-13 transnational gang, most of whom allegedly participated in a series of murders, including several slayings in which victims were hacked to death with machetes in the Angeles National Forest.
LOS ANGELES - A federal jury has found four members of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) guilty of carrying out three gruesome murders in the Angeles National Forest in 2017, including the killing of a victim whose heart was carved from his chest.
The verdicts mark the latest convictions in a massive, multi-agency crackdown on the transnational gang’s violent operations across Los Angeles County.
What we know:
Following a 17-day trial, a federal jury on June 4 found Angel Amadeo Guzman, 31, Fernando Garcia Parada, 28, Edgard Velasquez, 43, and Jose Jonathan Castillo, 34, guilty of racketeering conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering.
Evidence presented at trial detailed the inner workings of MS-13 Los Angeles, which operates through local subsets or "cliques," such as the Fulton clique in the San Fernando Valley and the Francis clique near MacArthur Park.
The gang enforces strict rules requiring members to use murder and extreme violence to rise within its ranks.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- 22 Los Angeles-based MS-13 gang members charged in series of grisly murders
- MS-13 gang members from LA County convicted of 6 murders committed to advance their standing in gang
- MS-13 gang members shot and killed informant in South LA grocery store, DOJ says
The convictions stem from three distinct murders committed between March and June 2017:
The March 2017 Murder: A victim accused of painting rival gang graffiti was authorized for execution by Velasquez.
Guzman, Garcia, and co-conspirators abducted and strangled the victim, drove him to the Angeles National Forest, and attacked him with machetes.
They then dismembered the body, carved out his heart, and threw his remains into a canyon.
The April 2017 Murder: Guzman and co-conspirators targeted a victim who fled El Salvador while being investigated by the gang for cooperating with law enforcement.
Conspirators used a teenage girl's Facebook account to catfish and lure the victim to the forest, where he was killed.
The June 2017 Murder: Castillo, Garcia, and co-conspirators targeted an MS-13 associate accused of overstating his position in the gang. He was taken to the forest, where he was stabbed and hacked to death.
Big picture view:
The multi-year investigation was spearheaded by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Task Force on Violent Gangs, which includes the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, alongside the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Federal prosecutors have now secured more than 30 convictions in this long-running racketeering prosecution.
What they're saying:
"These defendants carried out acts of unimaginable brutality in service of a criminal organization that relies on fear, intimidation and murder to maintain its power," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. "Yesterday’s verdicts hold them accountable for taking three lives in a campaign of violence that terrorized communities across Los Angeles County. I commend Deputy District Attorney Eric Siddall for his outstanding work alongside Assistant United States Attorneys Jason C. Pang, William Larsen and Suria M. Bahadue in securing justice for the victims and their families. I recognize and thank former District Attorney Jackie Lacey for her leadership when the Office first filed this case. I also thank the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for their relentless efforts to dismantle MS-13’s violent criminal enterprise. Those who commit murder on behalf of gangs will be found, prosecuted and held accountable."
What's next:
United States District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld, Jr. has scheduled the sentencing hearings for all four defendants on October 20.
Because of the nature of the charges, all four men face one or more mandatory sentences of life in federal prison without the possibility of parole.
They will remain in federal custody until their dates in court.
Additionally, five other MS-13 members who were convicted in November 2025 for committing six murders to advance their standing in the gang are scheduled to face their own sentencing hearings in the coming months.
The Source: This report is based on information from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and previous FOX 11 reports.