Federal Prosecutors Secure Convictions for Vicious Murders, Including a 16-Year-Old Girl, Committed by Notorious Transnational Gang
A federal jury in Maryland has convicted three members of the violent transnational criminal organization MS-13 for their roles in a racketeering conspiracy that included multiple brutal murders and attempted murders. The convictions, announced today by U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly O. Hayes, mark a significant victory in the ongoing effort to dismantle the gang’s operations in the state.
Wilson Arturo Constanza-Galdomez, 26, of El Salvador; Edis Omar Valenzuela-Rodriguez, 24, of Honduras; and Jonathan Pesquera-Puerto, 24, of Honduras, were all found guilty of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise. Constanza-Galdomez and Valenzuela-Rodriguez were also convicted of two counts of murder in aid of racketeering, while Pesquera-Puerto was convicted of one count. All three now face a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the defendants were members and associates of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, which operates in Maryland’s Baltimore City and Baltimore County. The gang’s members are organized into “cliques” and are required to commit acts of violence to gain status and rank within the organization. A core tenet of the gang is to attack and kill rivals, known as “chavalas.”
“The MS-13 gang continues to show a total disregard for human life,” said U.S. Attorney Hayes. “These defendants’ commitment to carrying out multiple vicious attacks and murders, including the killing of a 16-year-old girl, is unconscionable. We, along with our law-enforcement partners, are committed to relentlessly pursuing and prosecuting those who commit these despicable crimes.”
The convictions relate to a series of violent acts committed between June 2019 and at least October 2021. Among the most heinous crimes detailed at trial were the murders of two young women.
On May 29, 2020, the defendants, along with other MS-13 members, lured 16-year-old Gabriela Gonzalez-Ardon to an area near Loch Raven Reservoir in Cockeysville, Maryland. Believing she was associated with a rival gang, they brutally murdered her with a machete and knives. The defendants then reported the killing to MS-13 leadership to earn credit and advance their status.
Just a week later, on June 5, 2020, the defendants participated in the murder of Michelle Tenezaca near the CSX Bayview Train Yard in Baltimore. Tenezaca, whom the gang suspected of cooperating with law enforcement, was stabbed 143 times. As with the previous murder, the defendants reported the killing to MS-13 leadership for promotion within the gang.
The defendants were also found responsible for a separate attempted murder on April 25, 2020, and a series of attacks on June 6, 2020, that left two victims with life-threatening injuries. Both victims survived the attacks, which occurred at a library and near a train yard in Baltimore and Dundalk.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division praised the verdict. “Today’s verdict demonstrates the Department of Justice’s unwavering commitment to prosecuting MS-13 members to the fullest extent of the law in order to eradicate the transnational street gang, obtain a measure of justice for their victims, and restore the safety and security of our communities,” he said.
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