Federal prosecutors say members of MS-13 lured victims into the mountains north and west of Los Angeles — remote scenic overlooks and a helipad in the Angeles National Forest — where they carried out multiple killings between 2017 and 2019. The sites were chosen to ensure isolation, far from potential witnesses or passersby, Deputy District Attorney Eric Siddall told jurors in a federal courtroom Tuesday.
According to prosecutors, five alleged MS-13 members now on trial participated in four such mountain killings and two others in Van Nuys and North Hollywood. The government said young recruits were required to kill to enter the gang, with "more ruthless" acts earning greater standing. "The more ruthless the killing, the greater the respect that was earned," Siddall said.
One victim was stabbed 107 times while another was disemboweled while still alive, Siddall added, according to The Los Angeles Times. Prosecutors described the violence as part of a pattern that intensified around 2016, when an influx of arrivals from Central America imposed "Salvadoran rules" requiring killings to gain full membership.
Defense attorneys countered that the case relies on testimony from cooperating witnesses — eight admitted killers — accusing them of lying to obtain lighter sentences. One lawyer likened the defendants to "child soldiers" conditioned to extreme brutality. Another said his client "did what he had to do" to survive within the gang's hierarchy.
Prosecutors said the killings were not about financial gain. Newly recognized "homeboys" received little beyond the ability to use gang hand signs and command lower-level associates. Although MS-13 is known as an international criminal organization with leadership based in Central America, prosecutors argued the Los Angeles cliques were more focused on hunting rivals and perceived traitors than running lucrative rackets.
In one alleged 2017 killing, 11 attackers took turns stabbing 20-year-old Elvin Hernandez after taking him to an isolated mountaintop location. A prosecutor quoted Fulton clique leader Walter Chavez Larin as telling the dying victim: "The Grim Reaper just took you away." Defense attorneys insisted Chavez Larin was a "poser," not an actual killer.
A subsequent murder involved 16-year-old Brayan Andino, allegedly lured from school, then taken to Lopez Canyon and killed with a garrote, a baseball bat and a serrated knife referred to as "the gut ripper." His remains were found only after a wildfire.
More killings followed, including the death of Roger Chavez, 19, shot in the Malibu foothills; 22-year-old Osvaldo Hernandez, killed outside his home neighborhood; and 19-year-old Oscar Fuentes, allegedly executed in a remote area near Santa Clarita after violating internal rules. Prosecutors said another victim, Bradley Hanaway, was shot after being misidentified as a rival based on a tattoo.
The jury began deliberations Wednesday. A conviction could mean life sentences for the defendants.
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