New Indictment Charges Columbus MS-13 Gang Members with Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering, Including Five Central Ohio Murders

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Total of 29 Defendants Charged by Indictment or Criminal Complaint in Columbus MS-13 Case

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A second superseding indictment returned here today charges 23 individuals alleged to be members and associates of the Columbus clique of MS-13 in a racketeering conspiracy, which includes five murders as well as attempted murder, extortion, money laundering, drug trafficking, assault, obstruction of justice, witness intimidation, weapons offenses and immigration-related violations.

The most recent indictment also includes three counts of murder in aid of racketeering and one count of murder through the use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, crimes that could make some of the defendants eligible for the death penalty.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, Rebecca Adducci, Detroit Field Office Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations, Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the new charges.

Those named in today’s indictment include:

Name	Also Known As	Age	City
Martin Neftali Aguilar-Rivera	Momia, Pelon	32	Columbus, Ohio / Indianapolis
Jose Bonilla-Mejia	Espia	29	California
Juan Jose Jiminez-Montufar	Chele Trece	34	Columbus, Ohio
Pedro Alfonso Osorio-Flores	Smokey	38	Columbus, Ohio
Isaias Alvarado	Cabo	45	Columbus, Ohio
Cruz Alberto-Arbarngas	Cruzito	30	Columbus, Ohio
Jose Manuel Romero-Parada	Russo	23	Indianapolis
Juan Jose Alvarenga-Alberto	Sailen	27	Columbus, Ohio
Juan Pablo Flores-Castro	Duende	29	Columbus, Ohio
Jose Daniel Gonzalez-Campos	Flaco	29	Virginia
Jose Salvador Gonzalez-Campos	Danger	27	Indianapolis/ Virginia
Jose Mendez-Peraza	Shadow	36	Columbus, Ohio
Erasmo Humberto Lima-Martinez	Tun Tun, Azul, Chino	31	Columbus, Ohio
Nehemias Joel Martinez-Hernandez	Mysterio	21	Columbus, Ohio
Jose Carlos Mercado-Crespin	Payaso	32	Ohio
Denis Donaldo Fuentes-Avila		18	Columbus, Ohio
Daniel Alexander Diaz-Romero	Manchas	24	Deported
Gerardo Davila-Colindres	Cuervo, Enano	39	Columbus, Ohio
Marvin Otero-Serrano	Vaca, Bandallero, Yankee	31	Columbus, Ohio
Jorge Alberto Landaverde	Grenas	34	Columbus, Ohio
Jose Salinas-Enriquez	Martillo	32	Dayton, Ohio
*Nelson Alexander Flores	Mula	46	Fugitive
Carolina Garcia-Miranda	Mamayema	30	Columbus, Ohio

*Fugitive

Charged with murder
Since the beginning of this investigation, additional defendants have been arrested and charged in criminal complaints with federal immigration-related crimes.

MS-13

• MS-13, formally La Mara Salvatrucha, is a multi-national criminal organization composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.  The organization’s leadership is based in El Salvador, where many of the gang’s high-ranking members are imprisoned.
   
• In 2012, the United States government designated MS-13 as a “transnational criminal organization.”  It is the first and only street gang to receive that designation.  MS-13 has become one of the largest and most violent criminal organizations in the United States, with more than 10,000 members and associates operating in at least 40 states, including Ohio.
   
• In Ohio and elsewhere in the United States, MS-13 is organized into “cliques,” which are smaller groups of MS-13 members and associates acting under the larger mantle of the organization and operating in a specific region, city or part of a city.  Cliques are grouped into larger “programs,” and the Columbus, Ohio clique of MS-13 is part of the East Coast Program.
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•  Cliques raise money through various forms of criminal activity, including extortion and narcotics trafficking, in addition to paying regular dues at clique meetings, and a portion of that money is wired to leadership in El Salvador.  Gang leaders use this money to purchase weapons and cell phones and to provide clothing, legal assistance and other forms of aid to MS-13 members who are incarcerated and to support the families of MS-13 members who have been killed.

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• Violence is a central tenet of MS-13.  The organization’s motto, “mata, viola, controla,” means kill, rape, control. Historically, MS-13 members and associates have committed murders and other violent acts using machetes, knives and similar bladed weapons in order to intimidate and instill fear in others.

This Case
In July 2017, a federal grand jury charged 10 individuals with conspiracy to commit extortion, conspiracy to commit money laundering and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

In December 2017, a superseding indictment charged four additional defendants and added charges of cocaine and marijuana distribution, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, obstruction of justice and illegal re-entry into the United States. Today’s second superseding indictment alleges the defendants have engaged in a racketeering conspiracy since approximately 2006 in the Southern District of Ohio and elsewhere.

The racketeering activity involves multiple acts of murder, extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering, obstruction of justice and witness intimidation. 

The second superseding indictment alleges that defendants committed a host of overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy, including: 1) the December 2006 murder of Jose Mendez, a suspected confidential informant, in Perry County; 2) the November 2008 murder of Ramon Ramos on Lockbourne Road in Columbus; 3) the mid-2015 murder of Carlos Serrano-Ramos, a suspected rival gang member, near Innis Road in Columbus; 4) the November 2015 murder of Wilson Villeda near Innis Road in Columbus; and 5) the December 2016 murder of Salvador Martinez-Diaz,  a suspected rival gang member, on Melroy Avenue in Columbus.

Other criminal activity detailed in the newest indictment includes burning a victim’s car when the victim refused to be extorted for money, conspiring to murder at least one potential witness, threatening the lives of a Transnational Anti-Gang Unit officer and the officer’s family in El Salvador, threatening to kill an individual’s family if he cooperated with law enforcement, possessing multiple firearms and ammunition, possessing and distributing cocaine and marijuana and destroying evidence.

The crimes charged in this case and each crime’s potential maximum sentence include:

Crime	Potential Maximum Sentence
Conspiracy to commit racketeering	Life in prison (for defendants who committed murder) 20 years in prison (for all other defendants)
Murder in aid of racketeering	Life in prison or death
Murder through use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence	Life in prison or death
Brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence	At least 7 years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed
Using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence	At least 5 years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed
Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances	20 years in prison
Alien in possession of firearm or ammunition	10 years in prison
Obstruction of justice	20 years in prison
Destruction or removal of property to prevent seizure	5 years in prison
Illegal re-entry of a removed alien	2 years in prison

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the FBI, ICE, Columbus Division of Police and Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and the assistance of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), as well as Assistant United States Attorneys Brian J. Martinez and Jessica H. Kim, who are prosecuting the case. The Organized Crime and Gang Section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice assisted in reviewing the racketeering charges.


An indictment, superseding indictment or criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

If you are a victim of the alleged crimes, or have additional information about MS-13, please call the FBI hotline at 614-849-1765.  Callers can remain anonymous.