A member of El Salvador’s notorious MS-13 gang who helped in the murder of many rivals, including the dismemberment of bodies and the concealing of evidence, received six life sentences on Thursday, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Elmer De Jesus Alas Candray, 27, collaborated with fellow members in the murders of six individuals in Massachusetts and Virginia between 2018 and 2022, leading to his promotion within the gang, according to prosecutors.
The Context
This Article Includes
MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, is a gang primarily made up of Salvadorans. The gang utilizes kidnapping, extortion, and murder as means to safeguard its power, territory, and financial gains. Over the past few years, law enforcement in the United States has successfully apprehended and prosecuted multiple individuals associated with this notorious group for their involvement in these criminal activities.
MS-13, known as one of the world’s most notorious and violent criminal gangs, first emerged in the 1980s in Los Angeles. The gang was formed by refugees escaping civil conflict in El Salvador, and it has since grown its influence across the United States.
During his first 24 hours back in the White House last month, President Donald Trump designated the group and Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) as terrorist organizations in one of the executive orders he signed.
What To Know
The first murder carried out by Alas Candray, also known as German Alexander Ramirez Lopez, Buky, and Desquiciado, and his coconspirators was motivated by disputes within MS-13 factions, or cliques.
In the summer of 2018, members of the Uniones Locos Salvatrucha (ULS) clique were ordered by the gang’s leadership in El Salvador to assassinate a Directos Locos Salvatrucha clique associate named only as K.A.C. in court records. Leaders suspected that K.A.C. had betrayed the gang.
On August 25, 2018, Alas Candray and his fellow clique members beat and strangled K.A.C. to death before dismembering his body, hiding the remains in garbage bags in adjacent woods in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
In June 2019, Alas Candray and others went after opponents who frequented the woods near Reston, Virginia, to drink. They used two pistols and two machetes to murder a man named J.L.G.M.
Unfortunately, Candray killed another person in September 2020, this time a young woman suspected to be affiliated with a rival gang who had “disparaged” MS-13 on social media. Using a phony Snapchat account, they lured I.J.P.G. to Colts Neck Road in Reston, where they shot her multiple times, particularly in the face..
Another killing occurred in March 2021, when a man named S.A.T.L., believed to be a rival gang member, was shot in an apartment in Fairfax County.
In May 2022, Candray and his accomplices launched another attack after scouting an apartment complex in Reston, which was believed to be a rival clique’s territory. When the second victim, known as R.A.P.S., arrived, they kicked him and dumped a large boulder on his head, killing him.
The group apprehended another victim on June 18, 2022, accusing him of disrespecting the organization and breaking its norms. They took F.R.A.R. from Reston and drove him to Seneca Regional Park in Fairfax County. They thrashed him with a baseball bat and stabbed him before dismembering him and burying the body in an unmarked grave.
Two months later, Alas Candray informed an acquaintance that law authorities had images of the gang and encouraged them to get rid of their ammunition and relocate.
What People Are Saying
In October 2024, Jessica D. Aber, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, expressed her thoughts on Alas Candray’s conviction in a press release. She emphasized that this case serves as a powerful reminder of the violence and complete disregard for human life that characterizes MS-13’s criminal activities. From the distribution of dangerous narcotics to their ruthless and brutal murders, MS-13’s attempts to assert their dominance will not be tolerated.
“According to Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist, Candray’s commitment to rising in rank within MS-13 led him to commit six horrifying murders. This demonstrates a complete disregard for the lives of his victims. The conviction of Candray is the outcome of a thorough investigation conducted by the FBI, Fairfax County Police Department, and our dedicated federal and local partners.”
What Happens Next
The gang member was found guilty by a jury of several charges, including conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, murder in aid of racketeering, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence causing death.
On Thursday, he received a sentence of six concurrent life terms, along with additional years for his involvement in the crimes.
