A 27-year-old man who was a member of the MS-13 gang was convicted by a federal jury on Monday of participating in six murders and other murder conspiracies, including beating and strangling a man to death in New Bedford, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Elmer De Jesus Alas Candray, a Salvadorian national, was convicted 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, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a statement. He will be sentenced on Jan. 30, 2025.
On Aug. 25, 2018, Alas Candray met other members of the gang in New Bedford to kill an associate of another MS-13 clique, according to the statement. The gang’s leadership in El Salvador approved the slaying because they believed the associate, identified as K.A.C., had betrayed the organization.
