El Salvadoran Gang Members Indicted in Murders, Conspiracy

Three reputed El Salvadoran gang members living in Montgomery County have been indicted by a federal grand jury as part of a conspiracy that planned and carried out murders, attempted murders and extortion.

The racketeering enterprise known as the La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13:

• Aldair Garcia-Miranda, also known as “Callado” and “Poseido,” 21, of Wheaton,
• Selvin Raymundo Salazar, also known as “Little” and “Inquieto,” 23, of Wheaton, and
• Raul Ernesto Landaverde-Giron, also known as “Decente” and “Humilde,” 25, of Silver Spring.

All of the defendants are in custody.

The La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, federal authorities say.

The defendants were members of the Normandie Clique of MS-13; starting in late 2013 or early 2014, Garcia-Miranda and Salazar reportedly led the Normandie Clique in both counties.

In one homicide, Salazar and other MS-13 members allegedly shot and killed an individual on Feb. 28, 2013, who was suspected of being a member of a rival gang.

The indictment also alleges that on Nov. 30, 2013, MS-13 members, including Garcia-Miranda and Landaverde-Giron, killed a person who had fled from El Salvador to Maryland to escape an order to kill by MS-13 in El Salvador. Prosecutors say they lured the victim to a wooded area in Frederick, shot him in the head and stabbed him multiple times, killing him.

Last summer, Garcia-Miranda, Salazar and other MS-13 members fired multiple shots at suspect rival gang members in the 5700 block of 30th Avenue in Hyattsville, striking one victim seven times and another victim once, prosecutors charge.

All three defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise.