MARYLAND
A federal jury on Wednesday convicted Raul Ernesto Landaverde-Giron, aka Humilde and Decente, of Silver Spring, Maryland, of racketeering, including murder, according to officials.
Landaverde-Giron is a member of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13.
He was also found guilty of murder in aid of racketeering; conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering; discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and murder resulting from the discharging of a firearm during a crime of violence.
According to the indictment, MS-13 is a national and transnational gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador.
Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and Frederick County, Maryland.
MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence to maintain membership and discipline within the gang.
One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, known as “chavalas,” whenever possible. MS-13 imposes “greenlights,” or orders to be killed, on members or associates who betray the gang by cooperating with law enforcement or violating significant gang rules.
According to evidence during a three-week trial, from at least 2012 through at least 2016, MS-13 members planned and committed numerous crimes, including murders and attempted murders in Prince George’s County and Frederick County.
Gang members also extorted owners of illegal businesses, among other crimes. Landaverde-Giron was a member of the MS-13 Normandie Locos Salvatrucha Clique.
Trial evidence showed that on Nov. 30, 2013, Landaverde-Giron, along with two other Normandie Clique members, murdered an individual in Frederick, Maryland, who had fled El Salvador to escape a greenlight imposed by MS-13 members in El Salvador.
After a co-conspirator recognized the victim in Frederick, Normandie Clique members called an MS-13 leader in prison in El Salvador to confirm the green light was still in effect.
A co-conspirator then lured the victim to a wooded area in Frederick, where he shot the victim in the head and Landaverde-Giron and another co-conspirator stabbed the victim in the face and neck.
Landaverde-Giron was promoted within the Normandie Clique for his participation in this murder.
He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison for murder in aid of racketeering.
U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte scheduled sentencing for June 13.
In addition to this conviction, five of the seven defendants charged in this case have previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the racketeering conspiracy.