In federal court in Boston on Friday, an MS-13 member entered a guilty plea regarding a 2014 shooting that occurred in Chelsea and a 2015 plot to murder someone suspected of cooperating with authorities.
David Lopez, also known as “Cilindro” and “Villano,” 22, a Salvadoran national, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO conspiracy.
U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Jan. 30, 2018.
Lopez was a member of MS-13’s Enfermos Criminales Salvatrucha (ECS) clique, which operated in Chelsea and other parts of Massachusetts. On May 29, 2014, Lopez and co-defendant Daniel Menjivar, a/k/a “Roca,” approached a victim near the Washington Avenue bus stop in Chelsea. The victim was repeatedly stabbed by Menjivar, and as he fought for his life, Lopez approached and shot at the victim. Following emergency surgery, the victim survived despite suffering significant life threatening injuries.
In September 2017, Menjivar pleaded guilty.
According to the investigation, members of the ECS clique determined in March 2015 that they would kill a fellow MS-13 member whom they mistakenly thought was working with law enforcement.
After law enforcement intervened and persuaded the individual to become a cooperating witness, further investigation showed that the ECS clique had arranged for someone to travel to New Jersey to retrieve Lopez, who had left Massachusetts following the May 2014 attack, so he could return to Massachusetts to participate in killing the suspected cooperating witness.
Among 23 defendants in this case, Lopez is the latest to plead guilty.
Lopez faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and three years of supervised release. Upon completion of his sentence, Lopez will face deportation. He is believed to be residing in the country illegally.