A half dozen reputed members of the violent street gang MS-13 have been indicted on various federal charges, including murder, attempted murder, a narcotics trafficking conspiracy, and gun charges, federal prosecutors said.
William Lainez-Duran, also called “Chino” and “Spanky,” and Elvin “Pikachu” Eulises Vasquez-Lopez were arrested in Hempstead on Thursday, when they will be arraigned at Central Islip federal court. Jose “Chino” Omar Yanes-Romero was taken into custody in Virginia, where e will face charges, authorities said. Two other suspects were already being held on previous charges and another is being held by immigration authorities.
“(Homeland Security Investigations) New York will not stand idly by as the MS-13 gang attempts to strengthen its presence in Nassau County,” said HSI New York Special Agent in Charge William Walker. “With each new indictment, we continue to whittle away at MS-13 on Long Island and at its false notion of impunity from the law.”
MS-13, short for La Mara Salvatrucha, is a violent transnational criminal organization based in El Salvador. The gang has multiple “cliques,” one of which is based in Hempstead.
Lainez-Duran, as well as two other gang members from other cliques of MS-13, have been charged with participating in the 2022 murder of Walter Ochoa. They allegedly joined Gerson Hernandez, another member of the Hempstead clique, who was already charged with participating in the murder.
Jairo “Flaco” Cornejo-Crespin, yet another member of the Hempstead clique, was also charged with attempted murder for shooting an 18-year-old on Dec. 15, right across from Hempstead High School around dismissal time. He is currently in jail.
“(The charges) demonstrate the MS-13 gang members’ brutality and utter disregard for human life,” said Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Six of the defendants are also charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine and marijuana. MS-13 sells cocaine and marijuana at the street level on Long Island, and use those proceeds to fund their criminal operations, including buying guns, ammo and other weapons, as well as sending money to MS-13 leadership in Central America, authorities alleged in court.
If convicted of the crimes listed in the superseding indictment, Vasquez-Lopez faces up to 50 years in prison; Cornejo-Crespin faces up to life in prison; Lainez-Duran faces up to life in prison as well as the death penalty.
This story is being updated.