Authorities have announced four guilty pleas by members and associates of the MS-13 gang in central Ohio, including the lead defendant.
34-year-old Martin Neftali Aguilar-Rivera of Columbus pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering and murder in aid of racketeering. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Ben Glassman says Aguilar-Rivera accepted responsibility for five murders: Jose Mendez, a suspected confidential informant in Perry County killed in December 2006, Ramon Ramos murdered in 2008 on Lockbourne Road in Columbus, Carlos Serrano-Ramos, a suspected rival gang member killed near Innis Road in Columbus in 2015, Wilson Villeda murdered in 2015 also near Innis Road, and Salvador Martinez-Diaz, another suspected rival gang member killed on Melroy Avenue in Columbus in 2016.
30-year-old Jose Bonilla-Mejia of California also entered a plea agreement for his role in three of those murders. Authorities say he and Aguilar-Rivera face life in prison without the possibility of release.
Two other Columbus men, 24-year-old Jose Manuel Romero-Parada and 28-year-old Jose Salvador Gonzalez-Campos, agreed to plead guilty to racketeering conspiracy and other gang-related crimes. They face 35 to 40 years in prison.
The four are among more than 20 individuals charged in Columbus in recent years as part of the MS-13 racketeering conspiracy case, which also involves attempted murder, extortion, money laundering, drug trafficking, and other charges.
The federal government says MS-13 consists of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Authorities say the gang has more than 10,000 members and associates operating in at least 40 states, including Ohio. President Trump has blamed weak border enforcement for the group’s crimes.
