BOSTON – A notorious MS-13 member was sentenced to life in prison for using social media to lure and violently murder two teenage boys in East Boston.
Edwin Gonzalez, a/k/a “Sangriento,” 23, a Salvadoran national, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to life in prison. Gonzalez was convicted of conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, commonly referred to as RICO or racketeering conspiracy. The jury found that Gonzalez’s racketeering activity on behalf of MS-13 included his participation in the Sept. 7, 2015, murder of a 15-year-old in East Boston and the Jan. 10, 2016, murder of a 16-year-old in East Boston.
MS-13 is a violent, transnational criminal organization whose members have engaged in acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, and assault, as well as other criminal activity, including narcotics trafficking, firearm possession, robbery, and witness retaliation.
Prospective members of MS-13 are required to complete an initiation process and then progress through the ranks: from “paro” to “chequeo” to “homeboy.” To be promoted within the gang, MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence, usually against rival gang members or those suspected of cooperating with law enforcement. Becoming a “homeboy” typically requires the commission of a murder.
The investigation revealed that Gonzalez was the driving force behind, and key participant in, two separate murders in Massachusetts. On Sept. 7, 2015, Gonzalez and three other MS-13 members lured a 15-year-old boy through social media to Constitution Beach in East Boston. The victim had approximately 33 sharp force injuries and multiple blunt force injuries.
The other three MS-13 members who committed the September 2015 murder with Gonzalez—Carlos Melara, a/k/a “Chuchito,” a/k/a “Criminal,” Henry Parada Martinez, a/k/a “Street Danger,” and Rene Mejia Flores a/k/a “Gasper,”—were also charged in connection with this investigation and pleaded guilty before trial. Melara was sentenced to 36 years in prison, while Parada Martinez and Mejia Flores are awaiting sentencing.
On January 10, 2016, Gonzalez and three other MS-13 members lured a 16-year-old boy through social media to Falcon Street in East Boston. Again, convinced that the victim was a gang rival, Gonzalez and others targeted him by pretending to be a girl on Facebook. Gonzalez then went to pick up the victim, pretending to be a relative of the girl that the victim was supposed to meet for a date. When Gonzalez arrived with the victim in East Boston, the MS-13 members attacked the victim. Three of the MS-13 members, including Gonzalez, were armed with large knives and stabbed the victim repeatedly, while the fourth MS-13 member fired multiple gunshots into the victim.
Gonzalez was a member of the Molinos Locos Salvatrucha clique of MS-13. He was promoted to “homeboy,” or full-member of the gang, on Dec. 7, 2015, to reward him for the murder he committed on behalf of MS-13. The victim had approximately 48 sharp force injuries, multiple gunshot wounds, and multiple blunt force injuries.
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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