An MS-13 gang member was convicted by a federal jury on Monday of the murders of five individuals in Northern Virginia between 2018 and 2022, as well as one in Massachusetts.
Elmer De Jesus Alas Candray, 27, a Salvadoran national who also goes by German names Alexander Ramirez Lopez, Buky, and Desquiciado, was found guilty in a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia of six murders, including conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise; five counts of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering and murder in aid of racketeering; and three counts of using a firearm during a violent crime that was fatal.
“This case is a stark reminder of the violence and disregard for human life inherent in MS-13’s criminal enterprise,” Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia stated. “Their deadly activities, from flooding our streets with dangerous narcotics to the brutal murders by which they attempt to impose their presence, will not go unchecked.”
On August 15, 2018, Candray met with other MS-13 members in New Bedford, Massachusetts, to murder K.A.C., a member of the Directos Locos Salvatrucha faction of MS-13. This was the first instance to be prosecuted.
The murder was authorized by the gang’s leadership because they thought K.A.C. had betrayed MS-13. According to the lawyer’s office, they met the victim at the residence of an MS-13 member in New Bedford that evening, where they battered and strangled K.A.C. until he died.
After being dismembered and placed in trash bags, the victim’s body was buried in a forested location. For their roles in the murder, Candray and other participants received promotions.
“Alas Candray committed half a dozen gruesome murders to rise in rank in MS-13, demonstrating a vile disregard for his victims’ lives,” Acting Special Agent in Charge Geist stated.
On June 23, 2019, almost a year later, Candray and other MS-13 gang members and allies prepared to travel to Hunters Woods in Reston, Virginia, with two machetes, a.45 caliber weapon, and a 9mm pistol. The group is suspected of shooting and cutting a person to death while they were there.
On September 17, 2020, Candray and others also used false pretenses to entice a young woman, described in court records as I.J.P.G., to Colts Neck Road in Reston. The woman showed up, and Candray and three other accomplices shot her in the face in succession, killing her.
Between March 2021 and June 18, 2022, Candray was involved in three additional murders in Northern Virginia.
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Then, on August 18, 2022, he sent a relative instructions to use coded language to inform gang members and associates to dispose of ammo as police had photos of them. Additionally, Candray told the crew to leave the area. The relative passed the word on the following day.
On January 30, a federal judge will sentence Candray. Each of the murder counts carries a minimum sentence of life in prison.
