Walter Antonio Chicas-Garcia, Multiple Murders, Witness Tampering, Texas 2024

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Table of Contents

Defendant Name, Crime, State Year

Walter Antonio Chicas-Garcia, 28, aka “Mejia,” Wilson Jose Ventura-Mejia, 29, aka “Discreto,” Miguel Angel Aguilar-Ochoa, 40, aka “Darki,” and Marlon Miranda-Moran, 26, aka “Chinki,” pleaded guilty to a multi-year racketeering conspiracy that included multiple murders and acts of witness tampering in the Houston, Texas area.

According to their plea agreements, Chicas-Garcia, Ventura-Mejia, and Aguilar-Ochoa will each be sentenced to 50 years of imprisonment, while Miranda-Moran will be sentenced to 35 years of imprisonment. These defendants carried out brutal murders in the name of MS-13, killing victims with machetes, baseball bats, and their bare hands, and then sending photos of the victims’ bodies to MS-13 leaders in El Salvador.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti said, “These defendants committed these unthinkable acts to maintain their status in a gang that spread fear in local neighborhoods and targeted those brave enough to cooperate with law enforcement. Today’s guilty pleas send a powerful message that the Justice Department will aggressively pursue and hold accountable MS-13 members who use violence and murder to terrorize our communities.”

On August 11, four additional MS-13 members—Defendants Luis Ernesto Carbajal-Peraza, 33, aka “Destino,” Edgardo Martinez-Rodriguez, 35, aka “Largo,” Carlos Alexi Garcia-Gongora, 27, aka “Garcia,” and Wilman Rivas-Guido, 29, aka “Inquieto” —also pleaded guilty to the same racketeering conspiracy. All four are citizens of El Salvador and were residing in the Houston area.

The parties stipulated to a sentencing range of 40 to 45 years of imprisonment for Carbajal-Peraza, and 45 to 50 years for Martinez-Rodriguez, Garcia-Gongora, and Rivas-Guido. According to court documents and statements made in court, MS-13 is a violent international street gang involved in a variety of violent criminal activities across the United States, including Texas, Virginia, Maryland, New York, and California.

MS-13 targeted the murder victims because they were believed to be members of rival gangs, cooperating with law enforcement, or working against MS-13’s interests. MS-13 members committed the murders using machetes, a baseball bat, and strangling. After the murder, MS-13 members sent photos of the victims’ bodies to high-ranking MS-13 members in El Salvador, sometimes further mutilating or dismembering the victim’s body before sending the photos.

Sentencing hearings for all eight defendants are scheduled to take place later this year. A federal district court will determine the final sentences for the defendants. The investigation was led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas and the FBI’s Houston Division, with assistance from the Houston Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety.