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June 20, 2009
Exclusive: Violent MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced for 2007 Virginia Murder
Author’s note: A recent report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police highlights the brutality and mercilessness of members of so-called transnational gangs such as the notorious MS-13.
A federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, sentenced 29-year-old Sergio Amador Amador to life in prison for killing a suspected rival gang member, according to a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police.
"Transnational street gangs pose a public safety threat to communities throughout this area," said James Dinkins, special agent in charge for the Office of Investigations in Washington, D.C.
"This sentence underscores the multi-jurisdictional commitment to arrest and prosecute violent transnational gang members and lets those gangsters still on the street know that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated," he said.
According to court documents, Amador and Oscar Omar Lobo-Lopez fatally shot Melvin Reyes, a suspected rival gang member, on May 5, 2007, in Springfield, Virginia. On February 27, 2009, Amador pleaded guilty to murder in aid of racketeering before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III.
Lobo-Lopez also faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison when he is sentenced on July 24, 2009.
Amador and Lobo-Lopez, both members of the MS-13 or Mara Salvatrucha gang, fatally shot Reyes because he was believed to be a member of the rival 18th Street gang. The rules of MS-13 require its members to attack and/or kill rival gang members.
After patrolling for Reyes earlier that day, Amador, Lobo-Lopez and other MS-13 members located him at the SpringfieldGarden apartments in Springfield.
Amador and Lobo-Lopez, armed with handguns, chased after and fired at Reyes. Wounded from the initial gunshots, Reyes fell in the parking lot. Amador and Lobo-Lopez approached him, and Lobo-Lopez ordered Amador to finish him. Amador then fired shots to Reyes' head. Reyes had seven gunshot wounds at the time of his death.
Amador was a member of a New York clique of MS-13, known as Surenos Locos Salvatrucha. In addition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, this case was investigated by the FBI's Washington Field Office, the Fairfax County Police Department, and the Suffolk County Police Department.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Jim Kouri, CPP is currently vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and a staff writer for the New Media Alliance . Feedback: editorialdirector@familysecuritymatters.org.
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