Members Found Guilty, Committing String, Six Grisly Murders — Five MS-13 Members Found Guilty of Committing String of Six Grisly Murders to Advance Their Standing in the Criminal Street Gang | United States Justice Department.
announcement Five MS-13 Members Found Guilty of Committing String of Six Grisly Murders to Advance Their Standing in the Criminal Street Gang Monday, November 10, 2025 Share Facebook X LinkedIn Email For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs LOS ANGELES – Five members of the transnational criminal organization Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13) were found guilty by a jury today of committing six murders to advance their standing in the gang – killings in which the victims varyingly were strangled, shot, stabbed with knives or a machete, beaten with a baseball bat, then,
in some cases, had their bodies thrown off a cliff or down a hill in the Angeles National Forest.At the conclusion of a nine-week trial, a jury found the following defendants guilty of one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act:Walter Chavez Larin, 26, of Panorama City;Roberto Alejandro Corado Ortiz, 30, of Baldwin Park; andEdwin Martinez, 28, of Cypress Park.Chavez and Corado also were found guilty of two counts of violent crimes in aid of racketeering (VICAR) murder. “These guilty verdicts for crimes related to murder,
extortion and drug trafficking against five members of MS-13’s leadership demonstrate the relentless and fearless partnership between local and federal law enforcement and prosecutors to bring these dangerous criminals to justice.”According to evidence presented at trial, the defendants murdered their victims who either were – or perceived to be – members of the 18th Street gang, a rival of MS-13, or had violated MS-13’s rules.The trial focused on MS-13 Los Angeles cliques that implemented gang rules that required its members to use murder and extreme violence to rise within its ranks.The charges relate to machete, knife,