By Danny Fenster
ticklethewire.com
Consider the streets of Suffolk County, N.Y. that much safer: Five members of the violent street gang MS-13 were named in a indictment unsealed on Monday, the FBI announced later that day. The charges include murder in aid of racketeering, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, armed robberies, firearms offenses, and related conspiracy charges.
Jose Alvarenga, also known as “Fosforo,” and Hector Torres, also known as “Smiley,” face murder charges over the death of 15-year-old Christopher Hamilton in 2009, and Rigoberto Gomez in 2010, both in Brentwood, New York.
All of those charged are now in custody, the FBI says. Alvarenga and Torres were arraigned on Monday, while the other three will be arraigned later in the week.
Authorities alleged that on November 20, 2009, Alvarenga, the leader of the Brentwood Locos Salvatruchas (BLS) clique of the MS-13, ordered gang members to attack suspected rival gang members at a house party in Brentwood, says the FBI.
He armed his men with a .22 caliber rifle and a semi-automatic handgun, then led them to the house. At least three rifle shots were fired into a crowd outside the home moments after they arrived. One of the shots fatally hit Christopher Hamilton in the temple.
The indictment also alleges that in August 2010, members of an MS-13 clique known as the Sailors suspected that another MS-13 member, Rigoberto Gomez, was working with local law enforcement, so they put a “green light” on Gomez, which allowed other members to kill Gomez on sight, says the FBI.
“They lured Gomez into the car, inviting him to smoke marijuana with them at the nearby Freeman Avenue Park,” says the FBI. “After exiting the car, Torres stepped behind Gomez and fired a bullet from a .357 caliber revolver into the back of Gomez’s head, and fired a second shot into Gomez’s head after the victim fell to the ground. Torres then handed the gun to the other MS-13 member, who fired a third shot into Gomez’s head.”
