Salvadoran national, MS-13 gang member convicted for role in 6 murders in Massachusetts, Virginia

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Salvadoran national and member of the Uniones Locos Salvatrucha (ULS) clique of the violent Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13) gang Monday on charges relating to his participation in the gang’s criminal enterprise, including six murders and additional murder conspiracies.

According to the Eastern District of Virginia Department of Justice, on Aug. 25, 2018, Elmer De Jesus Alas Candray, aka German Alexander Ramirez Lopez, Buky, and Desquiciado, 27, met other MS-13 members in New Bedford, Massachusetts, to murder an associate of MS-13’s Directos Locos Salvatrucha clique, identified in court records as K.A.C. MS-13 leadership in El Salvador had approved the murder because they believed K.A.C. had betrayed MS-13. That evening, they met K.A.C. at the residence of an MS-13 member in New Bedford. After the group ate dinner together, they beat and strangled K.A.C. to death. The conspirators then dismembered K.A.C.’s body, placed his remains in trash bags, and buried the remains in a wooded area near New Bedford. Alas Candray and other conspirators were promoted in the MS-13 ranks for their participation in the murder.

“This case is a stark reminder of the violence and disregard for human life inherent in MS-13’s criminal enterprise,” said Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Their deadly activities, from flooding our streets with dangerous narcotics to the brutal murders by which they attempt to impose their presence, will not go unchecked. Their crimes will be met with the full attention and resources of this office and our law enforcement partners.”

“Alas Candray committed half a dozen gruesome murders to rise in rank in MS-13, demonstrating a vile disregard for his victims’ lives,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Geist. “His conviction is the result of a multiyear investigation worked by the FBI, Fairfax County Police Department, and our federal and local partners. We thank the victim’s families for their patience throughout Alas Candray’s prosecution and reaffirm our commitment to bringing MS-13 members to justice for terrorizing communities throughout the country.”

“This verdict sends a clear message that the community will not tolerate violence, and we will hold those accountable for their actions” said Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police.

In June 2019, Alas Candray and others conspired to murder individuals who frequently gathered to drink in a wooded area in the clique’s perceived territory in Reston. On June 23, 2019, Alas Candray and other members and associates armed themselves with a 9mm firearm, a .45 caliber firearm, and two machetes and traveled to the Hunters Woods area of Reston. The group murdered an individual, identified as J.L.G.M., shooting him and slashing him with a machete.

On Sept. 17, 2020, Alas Candray and others devised a plan to lure a young woman, identified as I.J.P.G., to Colts Neck Road in Reston under false pretenses and kill her because they believed she was associated with a rival gang and had disparaged MS-13 on social media. A co-conspirator exchanged messages with I.J.P.G. via Snapchat, pretending to be a member of MS-13’s rival gang. He and another co-conspirator later picked up I.J.P.G. and drove her to Colts Neck Road, where Alas Candray and another MS-13 member were waiting for them. The four co-conspirators killed I.J.P.G. by taking turns shooting her, primarily in the face.

In March 2021, MS-13 members and associates conspired to murder an individual, identified as S.A.T.L., because they believed he was a member of a rival gang. On March 11, 2021, Alas Candray and other MS-13 members and associates, surveilled S.A.T.L. in Fairfax County and waited for an opportunity to murder him. Alas Candray and his co-conspirators went to an apartment complex on Winterthur Court in Reston where Alas Candray fatally shot S.A.T.L.

On May 30, 2022, Alas Candray and co-conspirators travelled to the Lerner Springs at Reston Apartment Homes and joined others on a footpath behind the complex to patrol the clique’s perceived territory. Shortly thereafter, the conspirators encountered an individual, identified as R.A.P.S., on the footpath. Alas Candray and others murdered R.A.P.S. by kicking him and dropping a large rock on his head as he lay on the footpath.

On June 18, 2022, Alas Candray and a co-conspirator picked up an individual, identified as F.R.A.R., from Reston and drove him to Seneca Regional Park in Fairfax County. Alas Candray, and his co-conspirators believed that F.R.A.R. had disrespected MS-13 and violated its rules. After arriving at a pre-selected location in the park, Alas Candray and several co-conspirators murdered F.R.A.R. by beating him with a baseball bat and stabbing him. They then dismembered F.R.A.R.’s body and buried F.R.A.R.’s remains in a clandestine grave.

On Aug. 17, 2022, Alas Candray instructed a relative to relay a message to other ULS members and associates. Using coded language, Alas Candray, instructed a co-conspirator to get rid of ammunition, warned ULS members and associates that law enforcement had pictures of them, and advised them to move. The relative relayed the message the following day.

The jury convicted Alas Candray of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, five counts of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, five counts of murder in aid of racketeering, and three counts of use of a firearm during a crime of violence causing death. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment on each of the five murder counts when sentenced on Jan. 30, 2025. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Blanchard, Megan Braun, and Natasha Smalky are prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.