Feds: Ten alleged MS-13 members charged in violent crime spree

Ten alleged members or associates of a Queens-based clique of the MS-13 street gang were charged Thursday in a case that included three killings and other violent crimes, officials said.

The other crimes allegedly committed by members or associates of the Indios Locos Salvatruchas gang clique include conspiracy to commit murder, firearms offenses and conspiracy to distribute marijuana, officials said.

“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,” Eastern District U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said in a statement. “No matter what obstacles may arise, this Office will not rest until our mission to eradicate the MS-13 threat is accomplished.”

The killings, according to officials, include the February 2019 fatal shooting of Abel Mosso at the 90th Street subway station in Jackson Heights. MS-13 believed Mosso was a member of the rival 18th Street gang. MS-13 members followed Mosso when he boarded the No. 7 train on Main Street in Flushing, officials said. They assaulted Mosso in a car, officials said, and then dragged him onto the Jackson Heights platform and shot him multiple times.

One of the MS-13 members, according to authorities, shouted in Spanish at onlookers during the attack: “Nobody get involved, we’re MS-13, we’re going to kill him.”

A second killing, officials said, occurred in April 2018 when Andy Peralta, who had a tattoo of a crown on his chest that MS-13 members “mistakenly believed to be a symbol of [his affiliation with] the rival Latin Kings gang.” MS-13 members lured Peralta, 17, to Kissena Park in Flushing, where they fatally beat, stabbed and strangled him, authorities said.

The third killing took place Nov. 4, 2018, according to authorities. Victor Alvarenga was shot numerous times in the head and body while walking down the street near his Flushing home. An informant said Alvarenga was killed because he falsely claimed he had a leadership position in MS-13, according to court papers.

The arrests were the result of a joint investigation by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, New York City police, the Queens district attorney’s office, and the New York City Department of Investigations.

Charged with murder are: Juan Amaya-Ramirez, 22, of Fresh Meadow, whose gang nickname is “Cadaver”; Ramiro Guitierrez, 27, of Flushing, known as “Cara de Malo," which translates to "ugly or mean face”; Victor Lopez, 21, also of Flushing, known as “Curioso”; Jairo Martinez-Garcia, 21, of Flushing, known as “Colmillo," which means "fang" in English; Tito Martinez-Alvarenga, 20, of Flushing, known as “Imprudente," and Douglas Melgar-Suriano, 24, of Flushing, known as “Clemenica.”

If convicted on the murder charges, the defendants face mandatory life imprisonment, or if prosecutors seek it, possibly the death penalty.

All those charged were expected to be arraigned at the federal District Court in Brooklyn.

By Robert E. Kessler

Robert.Kessler@newsday.com

Bob Kessler covers federal law, including law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, DEA, IRS and ATF, as well as the federal courts.