4 reputed MS-13 gang members in Las Vegas indicted in ‘murder spree’
Four reputed MS-13 gang members have been indicted in what authorities described as a racketeering conspiracy involving several murders, kidnappings, burglaries and drug trafficking.
Those charged are Luis Reynaldo Reyes-Castillo, 27; David Arturo Perez-Manchame, 22; Joel Vargas-Escobar, 25; and Alexander De Jesus Figueroa-Torres, 25.
A superseding indictment tied members of the Parkview clique in Las Vegas to violent crimes for a year starting in March 2017, the Department of Justice said in a news release.
“The Criminal Division and our federal, state and local partners are committed to dismantling violent gangs like MS-13,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s criminal division said in the release. “The violence alleged in the superseding indictment in this case is truly shocking. The murder spree carried out by MS-13 in Las Vegas clearly shows the danger posed by organized street gangs like MS-13.”
Reyes-Castillo and Perez-Manchame are scheduled for their initial court appearance on Tuesday.
In 2018, four alleged members of the gang, including Reyes-Castillo and Perez-Manchame, were charged in the death of Arquimidez Sandoval-Martinez, whose body was found in a desert area east of Las Vegas, two weeks after he disappeared.
In that case, Perez-Manchame pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen firearm and was given three years probation in 2019. Charges against Reyes-Castillo were later dropped.
Authorities at the time said that Sandoval-Martinez, last seen by friends at Club 2100, 2100 Fremont St., was shot and repeatedly stabbed.
Officials have said the defendants are in the United States illegally and are in federal custody.
MS-13, which is short for “La Mara Salvatrucha,” is a transnational gang made up primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador. MS-13 has been in the U.S. since at least the 1980s.
Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.
