Jose Garcia, Murder-for-Hire, New Jersey 2023

Jose Garcia, a/k/a “Chucky,” 24, of Plainfield, New Jersey, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison for orchestrating a cold-blooded murder-for-hire plot as part of the violent MS-13 gang’s reign of terror in Plainfield. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler, caps a years-long federal investigation into the gang’s criminal enterprise that included multiple murders, witness intimidation, and extortion.

Garcia was convicted following a 16-week trial on charges of racketeering conspiracy, murder-for-hire conspiracy, travel in interstate commerce with intent to commit murder, and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering. Prosecutors laid bare a chilling campaign of violence led by the “Plainfield Locos Salvatruchas” (PLS) clique of MS-13, an international street gang with deep roots in New Jersey and abroad.

In late 2010 and early 2011, Garcia arranged for MS-13 members from Maryland to travel to Plainfield to assassinate a woman in exchange for $40,000. He planned to split the cash with the hitmen. On January 10, 2011, four Maryland gang members arrived in New Jersey to carry out the hit—only to be arrested before they could meet Garcia and complete the murder.

On the same day, January 10, 2011, fellow MS-13 member Roberto Contreras, a/k/a “Demonio,” 28, of Bound Brook, was sentenced to 180 months after aiding in the execution of a suspected 18th Street gang member outside a local restaurant. Surveillance and eyewitness testimony confirmed Contreras stopped the car and allowed a gunman to exit and shoot the victim in the head at point-blank range.

Other PLS members were also sentenced for their roles in the gang’s violent spree. Franklin Mejia, a/k/a “Frankbo,” 25, and his brother Kelvin Mejia, a/k/a “Machete,” 24, both of Plainfield, each received 150 months. Ruben Portillo-Fuentes, a/k/a “Sombra,” 24, was sentenced to 121 months after firing on a man in May 2011, hitting him in the chest. Julio Adalberto Orellana-Carranza, a/k/a “Player,” 28, got 72 months for a June 2011 mission to kill a rival gang member, using a gun supplied through Kelvin Mejia. Jose Romero-Aguirre, a/k/a “Conejo,” 29, of North Plainfield, received 66 months for conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.

From 2007 through 2011, the PLS clique committed five murders in Plainfield alone, along with extortion, robbery, and weapons offenses. U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman and Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell emphasized that the sentences reflect a federal commitment to dismantling organized street gangs. All defendants were sentenced in Newark federal court, where Judge Chesler delivered justice with no leniency for those who turned neighborhoods into war zones.

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