Two MS-13 members from a Maryland branch of the international gang were sentenced for conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.
Endy Arturo Gaitan Campos, 30, of Hyattsville, Maryland, and Jorge Isaac Argueta Chica, 23, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, participated in the Weedams Locos Salvatrucha (WLS) “clique,” which operated in and around Adelphi, Maryland, according to a news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Maryland.
A “clique” is how La Mara Salvatrucha gang, also known as “MS-13,” arranges its criminal organization into smaller groups, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. MS-13 is “composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, with members operating in Maryland and throughout the United States.”
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Campos to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release for the conspiracy charge Wednesday. Argueta Chica was sentenced to six years in prison and three years supervised release on the same charge last week, the Department of Justice said.
Campos and Argueta Chica helped participate in the Aug. 8, 2020, murder and cover-up of a person identified by the Justice Department only as “Victim 4.”
In addition to aiding in the murder of Victim 4, Argueta Chica also extracted extortion payments from at least two victims on behalf of WLS, court records show.
On Aug. 8, 2020, Campos drove WLS leader and co-conspirator Brayan Torres, co-conspirator Franklyn Sanchez and other WLS members to a wooded area in Prince George’s County. Campos also told an unnamed co-conspirator that they would have to help in the murder.
Victim 4 was suspected of cooperating with the law and was owed money by Sanchez. Torres handed the unnamed co-conspirator a firearm, and that person along with Sanchez shot Victim 4 multiple times upon their arrival, the Justice Department said.
Torres and other WLS members then disposed of the body in a stream. One of the gang members tossed the weapons and other incriminating articles into a dark bag before being driven to Torres’ house by Campos. Argueta Chica, among others, was waiting there.
On their way back from the wooded area, Sanchez realized he was bleeding. In a further attempt to cover up the murder, Torres called on other WLS members, including Agustino Eugenio Rivas Rodriguez, and ordered them to take shovels and bury Victim 4, the DOJ said.
Campos drove members including Rivas Rodriguez and Argueta Chica to the scene of the murder, where they proceeded to dig a hole and bury Victim 4, records show.
On their own charges for racketeering conspiracy including the murders of Victim 4 and others, Torres was sentenced to 28 years in prison and five years of supervised release on Sept. 13, Rivas Rodriguez was sentenced to 16 years in prison and three years of supervised release on Aug. 1, and Sanchez was sentenced to 28 years in prison and five years of supervised release on May 19.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.