Three Maryland men have been charged Monday with participating in one of the largest street gangs in the U.S.: MS-13.
From at least 2012 through 2014, the defendants participated in the gang by planning and committing murders and extorting their victims, the indictment alleges.
Aldair Garcia-Miranda, 21, of Wheaton, Maryland; Selvin Raymundo Salazar, 23, of Wheaton; and Raul Ernesto Landaverde-Giron, 25, of Silver Spring, Maryland are all in custody.
MS-13 is a national and international gang comprised primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador, with branches or “cliques” operating throughout Prince George’s and Montgomery counties and in Frederick, Maryland, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.
The defendants were members of the “Normandie Clique” and from at least late 2013 or early 2014, Garcia-Miranda and Salazar served as leaders of the clique, the indictment alleges.
The Alleged Murders
Salazar and other MS-13 members allegedly shot and killed an individual suspected of being a member of a rival gang on Feb. 28, 2013, according to the indictment.
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On Nov. 30, 2013, Garcia-Miranda and Landaverde-Giron are also suspected of arming themselves with knives and a gun in order to kill a person who had fled from El Salvador to Frederick to escape an order to kill by MS-13 in El Salvador, the indictment alleges.
After luring the victim to a wooded area between Greenwall Place and Hoke Place in Frederick, the two men shot the victim in the head and stabbed him multiple times, killing him, the indictment alleges.
On Jul. 30, 2014, Garcia-Miranda, Salazar and other MS-13 members traveled to Hyattsville, Maryland with guns to search for and shoot suspected rival gang members and others who were believed to have taken property from an MS-13 associate, according to the indictment.
Garcia-Miranda and an MS-13 associate fired multiple shots from handguns at the three victims, striking one victim seven times and another victim once, the indictment alleges. Salazar was with the two when the shooting happened, the indictment says.
The Charges
All three defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise.
Garcia-Miranda and Salazar also face up to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, and for attempted murder in aid of racketeering.
Those two also face at least 10 years in prison for using a gun during the alleged conspiracy.
Garcia-Miranda was also known as “Callado” and “Poseido,” Salazar was also known as“Little” and “Inquieto,” and Landaverde-Giron was also known as “Decente” and “Humilde.”
