Authorities charge 10 in alleged MS-13 deaths, other crimes
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal authorities on Thursday brought charges including murder, attempted murder, and murder conspiracy against 10 men accused of being part of the notorious MS-13 gang.
U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue of the Eastern District said the men were all in custody in connection to three killings and other crimes. One was arrested Wednesday in Maryland; five were arrested Thursday, four in New York and one in California; and four were already in detention.
“The murders and crimes of violence allegedly committed by these defendants are trademark MS-13 offenses — cold-blooded, senseless and brutally violent — and pose a grave danger to the residents of our communities,” Donoghue said in a statement announcing the arrests.
One of the killings in the federal complaints was of Andy Peralta, a 17-year-old found dead in April 2018 in a Queens park. Authorities said he was beaten, stabbed and strangled because he was mistakenly believed to part of a rival gang.
Another was Victor Alvarenga, killed in November 2018 in Queens. Authorities said he was walking down the street when he was approached and subsequently shot multiple times in the body and head.
The third was Abel Mosso, shot on a Queens subway platform in February 2019. Authorities said he was assaulted on a subway then dragged onto a station platform, with onlookers warned by his assailants not to get involved.
Donoghue said if convicted, six of the men face mandatory sentences of life in prison and are eligible for the death penalty. Three of the men face maximum sentences of life in prison and the last man faces up to 15 years in prison.
