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Carlos Argueta - who was the leader of the Freeport Locos Salvatruchas clique of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13 - who is also known as “Violento,” “Desorden,” and “Dylan,” pleaded guilty in Central Islip federal court to racketeering and firearms charges in 2019.
On Thursday, Feb. 3, US Attorney Breon Peace announced that Argueta was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Argueta was charged for his participation in the Jan. 15, 2016, attempted murder of a suspected rival gang member outside the Brentwood public library, and the June 3, 2016 murder in Brentwood of Jose Pena, an MS-13 member who was suspected of violating the gang’s rules.
As part of his guilty plea, Argueta admitted to confronting three suspected rival gang members outside the library in Brentwood on the day of the fatal shooting. Argueta took out a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun from his waistband and shot one of the men in the torso. Argueta and his cohorts then fled the scene.
Prosecutors noted that the wounded gang member received medical treatment and survived the gunshot.
Argueta, Pena, and a third MS-13 gang member were subsequently arrested by Suffolk County Police officers in connection to the attempted murder and were released on bail.
Following their arrests, officials said that Argueta demanded to see the other two gang members’ arrest paperwork in connection to the shooting. Argueta then informed the gang in Freeport that he suspected that Pena had cooperated with the police.
Prosecutors noted that members of MS-13 suspected that Pena was homosexual, which “is unacceptable under the rules of MS-13.”
After consulting with other MS-13 leaders in El Salvador, Argueta and the rest of the gang decided to kill Pena, with Argueta assigning tasks to other members, including the procurement of weapons and a vehicle that would later be used in the murder.
On June 3, 2016, Argueta and other MS-13 members lured Pena into the car, and drove to a secluded wooded area in Brentwood. After walking him into the woods, the group attacked Pena, taking turns stabbing him with knives and killing him.
Pena’s body wasn’t found for four months.
Argueta, now 22, who was 16 years old at the time of the crimes, was arrested by the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force on Sept. 20, 2016. The government proceeded to file a motion to transfer Argueta to adult status for prosecution, which was ultimately granted.
"Argueta, a violent leader in the MS-13, shot and wounded a so-called ‘rival’ in broad daylight outside of a public library, and then participated in the pre-planned brutal slashing and stabbing death of one of his alleged MS-13 accomplices in that shooting," Peace said when announcing the sentence. "Today’s lengthy sentence ensures that Argueta will no longer inflict senseless violence and bloodshed on our streets.”
According to officials, MS-13’s leadership is based in El Salvador and Honduras, and the gang has thousands of members across the United States, comprised primarily of immigrants from Central America. Since 2003, hundreds of MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York.
"Like so many members of MS-13, Carlos Argueta is without any moral compass and has shown zero regard for human life,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison stated. “It is up to law enforcement to send a message to this transnational gang that their violent and homicidal actions have no place in Suffolk County."
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