Roberto Cruz Moreno, Racketeering, Violent Crimes, Drug Distribution, Virginia 2019

State: Virginia
Category: Organized Crime
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/four-ms-13-gang-members-convicted-racketeering-violent-crimes-and-drug-distribution" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

A federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia has convicted four Northern Virginia MS-13 gang members of drug distribution, racketeering, and their roles in two attempted murders in Prince William County in 2019.

The convicted MS-13 gang members are Roberto Cruz Moreno, 22, of Woodbridge, Marvin Torres, 21, of Manassas, Kevin Perez Sandoval, 24, of Warrenton, and Jose Rosales Juarez, 27, of Manassas.

According to court records and evidence presented during a three-week trial, Cruz Moreno, Torres, and Perez Sandoval were high-ranking members of the Guanacos Lil Cycos (GLCS) clique of MS-13, while Rosales Juarez was an entry-level member.

In March 2019, Cruz Moreno picked up three other GLCS gang members and a victim identified as E.P.A. and drove them to an isolated wooded area in Bristow, where one GLCS gang member shot E.P.A. multiple times and another stabbed E.P.A. in the neck. They did this because GLCS gang members believed E.P.A. was disrespecting MS-13 and associating with a rival gang.

In April 2019, local law enforcement officers in Fairfax County found Cruz Moreno in possession of the same firearm used to shoot E.P.A and several grams of packaged cocaine in his vehicle, along with three other GLCS gang members traveling with him in the vehicle.

Tovar, Cruz Moreno, and Perez Sandoval each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison. Torres and Rosales Juarez each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.

Tovar will be sentenced on July 13, and Cruz Moreno, Perez Sandoval, Torres, and Rosales Juarez will be sentenced on August 31. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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