6 18th Street Gang Members Convicted in DC Double Murder, Racketeering Case

WASHINGTON – A federal jury in Washington D.C. has delivered the verdicts to U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, finding six members of the notorious 18th Street gang guilty of a string of crimes, including two murders and racketeering activity.

The convictions were announced today by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, ICE Deputy Director Russ Hott of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

At the heart of the case are two brutal murders committed in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. On July 14, 2021, Carlos Ramos Martinez, a member of a rival faction of the 18th Street gang, was killed in a wooded area near Elkton, MD. Martinez, aka “FIRE,” was believed to be recruiting members away from the LCB clique.

The evidence presented in court showed that Jose Santos Alvarado-Velasquez and Gerlin Neptali Diaz-Lopez killed Ramos Martinez. Carlos Rolando Martinez-Mora and Jose Anselmo Ibarra-Cristales participated in planning and facilitating the slaying, respectively. Alvarado-Velasquez, Diaz-Lopez, and Ibarra-Cristales were in the U.S. illegally at the time.

The investigation also involved a second murder committed in Rockville, MD, on December 19, 2021. According to the superseding indictment, Rolando Martinez-Mora planned and ordered the killing of a suspected member of MS13, Danis Alcides Salgado Mata. As a result, Mata was shot and killed on the heels of his mother’s wedding celebration. Mata’s mother and stepfather were also shot but survived their injuries.

The investigation began in 2019 and looked into the full breadth of criminal activity the 18th Street gang was involved in within the greater D.C. metropolitan area. As the investigation into the gang’s racketeering activities progressed, it began to center on a series of murders, attempted murders, and kidnappings of suspected rivals and members suspected of disloyalty.

The 18th Street organization engages in a variety of criminal activities throughout the United States, including in the District, Virginia, and Maryland. Its activities have included acts of murder, kidnapping, assault, robbery, witness intimidation, and firearms and narcotics trafficking to fuel the gang’s violent operations.

The gang is active throughout Central and South America – particularly in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras – and has established a presence in Europe. It uses violence to maintain control over specific geographical areas.

The six defendants found guilty include:

Jexon Madrid-Flores, 25, of Washington D.C.

Jose Santos Alvarado-Velasquez, 29, of El Salvador

Gerlin Neptali Diaz-Lopez, 27, of Honduras

Carlos Rolando Martinez-Mora, 32, of Guatemala

Jose Anselmo Ibarra-Cristales, 28, of El Salvador

Rolando Martinez-Mora’s sentencing is scheduled for September 20, 2024, while the other five defendants will face sentencing on September 27, October 4, and October 11, 2024.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has charged a total of 12 members of the 18th Street gang in connection with the conspiracy, with six of the defendants being tried in the first phase of the case.

The convictions are a significant blow to the 18th Street gang, which has been a major player in organized crime in the Washington D.C. area for years.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Metropolitan Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).