In federal court in Boston on March 22, an MS-13 member received a sentence for racketeering conspiracy that encompassed murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder.
U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV handed down the sentence to Bryan Galicia Barillas, a/k/a “Chucky,” 21, a Guatemalan national who resided in Chelsea, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 22 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Galicia Barillas will be subject to deportation upon completion of this sentence. The defendant’s October 2017 guilty plea addressed conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO conspiracy.
The racketeering activity by Galicia Barillas, a member of MS-13’s Enfermos Criminales Salvatrucha (ECS) clique, included his involvement in the death of an innocent bystander in Chelsea. During an encounter on Oct. 18, 2014, in Chelsea, Galicia Barillas and Hector Ramires, a/k/a “Cuervo,” another member of the ECS clique, came upon a group suspected of gang rival affiliations. Using a weapon that Galicia Barilles had supplied previously, Ramires discharged shots at one suspected rival, but the bullet struck an innocent bystander watching from a nearby window in a room where she lived with her three children. At the time of this killing, Galicia Barillas was still a juvenile.
Additional crimes for which Galicia Barillas accepted responsibility included a Sept. 8, 2014, stabbing and attempted murder in Chelsea—another incident occurring while he was a juvenile. Following his 18th birthday, Galicia Barillas participated in an April 2015 conspiracy to kill an MS-13 member believed to be cooperating with authorities, as well as a May 26, 2015, stabbing and attempted murder targeting a suspected rival gang member in Chelsea.
In October 2017, Ramires entered a guilty plea to RICO conspiracy involving murder and faces sentencing on April 11, 2018.
Following a three-year investigation, a fifth superseding indictment named 61 persons, including Galicia Barillas and Ramires, in connection with criminal activities attributed to alleged MS-13 leaders, members, and associates in Massachusetts. One of the largest criminal organizations in the United States, MS-13 maintains thousands of members nationwide and a significant presence throughout Massachusetts. The gang requires members to perpetrate violent acts, including homicide, against suspected rivals and those believed to be assisting law enforcement. From 2014 to approximately 2016, the fifth superseding indictment charges that MS-13 cliques operating in Massachusetts were accountable for six murders and roughly 20 attempted murders, along with robberies and drug trafficking.