Three alleged MS-13 gang members have been convicted in a federal racketeering case involving nine killings across Las Vegas and Los Angeles between 2017 and 2018. Jose Luis Reynaldo Reyes-Castillo, David Arturo Perez-Manchame and Joel Vargas-Escobar were found guilty of murder, racketeering and related charges after a 43-day trial. They face a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison without parole.
A fourth defendant, Alexander De Jesus Figueroa-Torres, previously reached a plea agreement. Jurors did not convict the defendants in two additional killings.
Prosecutors said the case exposed a violent MS-13 clique operating in Las Vegas and tied the defendants to a broader criminal operation involving murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, robbery, assault and illegal firearms. The indictment, filed in 2021 after years of investigation, marked one of the federal government’s largest efforts targeting gang violence in the region.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the convictions reflected the agency’s focus on dismantling violent gangs.
“Today’s conviction is just the latest example — with three MS-13 gang members convicted of nine murders, kidnappings, drug trafficking, and more in Las Vegas,” Patel said in a statement. “These gangs have terrorized our communities for far too long.”
During the trial, prosecutors argued the defendants carried out killings to gain status within MS-13. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanee Smith told jurors that victims were sometimes targeted based on suspicions they belonged to rival gangs, with little evidence required.
“Eleven people are dead,” Smith said, describing the severity of the violence presented during the trial.
The defense challenged the prosecution’s case, arguing that key witnesses were unreliable because many were former MS-13 members who had pleaded guilty and testified in exchange for possible sentencing benefits.
Andrea Luem, an attorney for Perez-Manchame, said the case relied heavily on witnesses who had incentives to cooperate with prosecutors. She argued that “mere association is not evidence of guilt.”
Richard Wright, who represented Reyes-Castillo, acknowledged his client had been associated with MS-13 but denied he was responsible for the specific crimes. Nathan Chambers, representing Vargas-Escobar, argued there was no physical evidence tying his client to the killings.
The jury ultimately convicted all three men on a RICO conspiracy charge, a federal statute commonly used to prosecute organized crime groups.
Reyes-Castillo was convicted on multiple counts, including eight counts of murder in aid of racketeering, kidnapping charges, attempted murder and firearms offenses. Perez-Manchame was convicted of two murder counts and kidnapping charges, while Vargas-Escobar was convicted of murder and causing death through the use of a firearm.
The convictions come as authorities continue targeting MS-13 operations. Last year, an MS-13 leader received a 68-year prison sentence in New York in a case involving eight killings. Internationally, hundreds of alleged MS-13 members are facing trial in El Salvador, where rights groups have raised concerns about due process.
MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, was founded in Los Angeles in the 1980s by Salvadoran immigrants and later expanded across the United States and Central America.
The three defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 10.