Related Content
Press Release
Press Release
ATLANTA - Emmanual Hidalgo, and Edwin Menjivar, have been sentenced for their participation in violent crimes that they committed as members of the street gang known as Mara Salvatrucha 13, or MS-13.
“MS-13 preyed on innocent civilians and suspected rival gang members,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “They spread fear and terror through large swaths of Gwinnett and DeKalb counties. People who choose to join gangs and commit violent crimes will learn firsthand that they will be held accountable for their actions and will spend time in prison.”
“The defendants in this case indiscriminately brought murderous violence against rival gang members and innocent civilians alike,” said Brock D. Nicholson, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Atlanta. “HSI is proud to continue to partner with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to target violent transnational gang members who threaten the safety of our communities.”
J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “The sentencing of these violent MS-13 gang members to federal prison will have a meaningful and positive impact on public safety in those areas of metro Atlanta that this gang for so long called their home. This case truly represents the problem posed and what is required to address these transnational gangs that bring their level of organized crime from their countries into ours. The FBI will continue to dedicated extensive investigative resources toward the combatting of these violent groups.”
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: MS-13 is an international gang whose members come primarily from Central American countries. By 2005, MS-13 had established a presence in the Atlanta area, staking out Norcross and Chamblee as their strongholds. Members of MS-13 violently attacked suspected rival gang members. They also committed countless armed robberies of civilians as well as businesses. The defendants were sentenced today for their participation in the following crimes:
The court sentenced the defendants as follows:
These defendants will be deported upon completion of their prison sentences. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Gwinnett County Police Department and DeKalb County Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorneys Paul R. Jones and Kim S. Dammers and Department of Justice Organized Crime and Gang Section Trial Attorney Joseph K. Wheatley prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the home page for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/.