Eric Antonio Mejia-Ramos, aka “Flaco,” 22, of Hyattsville, Maryland, was sentenced to life in federal prison on charges tied to a brutal murder and a sprawling MS-13 racketeering conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus handed down the sentence in Greenbelt, marking the culmination of a years-long federal investigation into one of the most violent street gangs operating in the D.C. metro area. Mejia-Ramos was convicted by a jury on September 30, 2016, after a three-week trial exposing the gang’s culture of terror and retribution.
Luis Guzman-Ventura, 23, also of Hyattsville and known as “Casper,” was sentenced just one day earlier—on January 4—to 30 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Guzman-Ventura pleaded guilty on September 13, 2016, moments before jury selection was set to begin. Both men were charged with conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, a transnational gang with deep roots in El Salvador and a growing presence across Maryland.
According to trial evidence and Guzman-Ventura’s plea agreement, the MS-13 Parkview Locotes Salvatrucha and Weedons cliques—of which Mejia-Ramos and Guzman-Ventura were members, respectively—engaged in a campaign of violence from at least 2009 through 2014. Their crimes included murder, assault, robbery, extortion by threat of violence, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. MS-13 enforces strict internal discipline through violence, demanding members attack and kill so-called “chavalas,” or rivals, on sight.
The prosecution detailed how, on August 28, 2012, Mejia-Ramos lured 17-year-old Ingrid Martinez to a park in Beltsville, believing she was affiliated with a rival gang. He then shot and killed her in cold blood. No weapon, no warning—just execution-style murder rooted in gang paranoia. The killing was not random; it was a calculated act to prove loyalty to MS-13 and escalate the gang’s control over local territory.
Guzman-Ventura admitted to opening fire as a front-seat passenger during a December 5, 2012, drive-by shooting. The vehicle, driven by fellow MS-13 member Jose Rodriguez-Nunez, a/k/a “Killer,” targeted three individuals believed to be rivals. One, Eliezer Reyes, was killed. Another was wounded. Rodriguez-Nunez has since pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing on January 9, 2017. The third victim survived to testify.
Fourteen of the 15 defendants charged in the federal racketeering indictment have now been convicted. One remains a fugitive. U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell, ICE HSI Special Agent in Charge Andre R. Watson, and local law enforcement leaders hailed the sentences as a blow to MS-13’s operations in Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Frederick Counties. “This case illustrates the extreme danger and cruelty of the MS-13 gang,” Rosenstein said. “They murder young men and women just because they think the victims belong to rival gangs.”
Related Federal Cases
- BGF Leader Mark Bazemore Gets Life for Murder, Drugs · Maryland
- Cruz Flores ‘Bruja’ Gets Life for MS-13 Throat-Slitting Murder · Maryland
- MS-13 Hitman Garcia Gets 20 Years for Murder-for-Hire · Maryland
- Miguel Angel Manjivar Gets Life for MS-13 Murders · Maryland
- Terrell Sivells Gets Life for Leading Baltimore’s TTG Gang · Maryland
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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