Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Umana, First La Mara Salvatrucha "MS-13" Member To Get Federal Death Penalty In U.S.

Alejandro Enrique Ramirez Umana, aka "Wizard and Lobo"

Photo: Macklenburg County Sheriff's Office

July 27, 2010

Washington, D.C. (HNNUSA) – On Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. formally imposed the federal death penalty sentence on Alejandro Enrique Ramirez Umana, aka "Wizard and Lobo," 25, of Charlotte, announced Assistant U.S. Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins of the Western District of North Carolina. A 12 person federal jury in Charlotte, N.C., voted unanimously on April 2010, to impose the death penalty against Umana after convicting him on April 19, 2010, on charges related to the murders on Dec. 8, 2007, of Ruben Garcia Salinas and his brother, Manuel Garcia Salinas. Umana is the first La Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 member in the United States to receive the federal death penalty.
Umana was convicted by the jury on all charged counts including conspiracy to participate in racketeering; two counts of murder in aid of the racketeering enterprise known as MS-13; two counts of murder resulting from the use of a gun in a violent crime, possession of a firearm by an illegal alien; one count of extortion; and two criminal counts associated with witness tampering or intimidation. During the sentencing phase, the jury also found that Umana was responsible for other murders. Specifically, the jury found that on July 27, 2005, Umana killed Jose Herrera and Gustavo Porras in Los Angeles and on Sept. 28, 2005, Umana participated and aided and abetted the killing of Andy Abarca in Los Angeles.
Umana was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 23, 2008. Witnesses testified at his trial that Umana was a veteran member of MS-13 who illegally came to Charlotte to assist in reorganizing the Charlotte MS-13 cell. Witnesses also testified that on Dec. 8, 2007, while in Las Jarochitas a family-run restaurant in Greensboro, N.C., Umana shot Ruben Garcia Salinas fatally in the chest and Manuel Garcia Salinas in the head.
The investigation of the MS-13 enterprise in Charlotte has led to charges against 26 MS-13 members.  In addition to Umana, six defendants were convicted at trial in January 2010, and 18 others have pleaded guilty. One defendant remains in custody in El Salvador.  To date, 11 of the 25 defendants convicted have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to 20 years.

In June, Judge Conrad Jr. sentenced:

  • Alexi Ricardo Ramos, a/k/a "Pajaro" was sentenced to 108 months in prison and five years of supervised release
  • Santos Canales-Reyes, a/k/a "Chicago" was sentenced to 144 months in prison and five years of supervised release
  • Jose Abrian-Urbina, a/k/a "Peligroso" was sentenced to 168 months in prison and five years of supervised release
  • Mario Guarjardo-Garcia, a/k/a "Speedy," "Iran Guerrero Gomez," and "Luis Angel Galindo" was sentenced to 94 months in prison and five years of supervised release prison and five years of supervised releas
  • Jaime Sandoval, a/k/a "Pelon" prison was sentence to 222 months in prison and five years of supervised release
  • Nelson Hernandez-Ayala, a/k/a "Sixteen" was sentenced to 42 months in prison and three years of supervised release
  • Heverth Ulises Castellon, a/k/a "Misterio" and "Sailor" was sentenced to 240 months in prison and five years of supervised release

In May, sentenced were:

  • Yelson Olider Castro-Licona, a/k/a "Diablo" was sentenced to 75 months in prison and three years of supervised release
  • Oscar Manuel Moral-Hernandez, a/k/a "Truchon" was sentenced to 34 months in prison and three years of supervised release
  • Manuel Cruz, a/k/a "Silencioso" was sentenced to 27 months in prison and three years of supervised release
  • Javier Molina, a/k/a "Big Psycho: and "Gringo;" was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release

Undocumented defendents will be subject to immediate deportation once their sentences are served.

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