A Montgomery County man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for conspiracy charges related to his involvement with the MS-13 gang, prosecutors announced Monday.
Kevin Henriquez-Chavez, 24, of Washington Grove, was sentenced for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as MS-13 and conspiring to use and carry a firearm during a crime of violence.
Henrique-Chavez was the leader one of the gang’s “cliques,” or branches of the criminal organization, prosecutors said. He admitted to participating in multiple crimes including robbery and murder.
Henrique-Chavez admitted to planning a 2015 murder behind an elementary school in Montgomery Village with other members of the gang. He instructed his co-conspirators to invite the intended target, believed to be a rival gang member, to the woods to smoke marijuana and meet up with a girl. Henrique-Chavez told each of his co-conspirators to take a turn shooting the victim, who agreed to go with them in the woods, where he was subsequently murdered.
“Federal, state, and local law enforcement will continue to work together to eradicate the violence perpetrated by MS-13 in Maryland,” U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur said in a statement. “Today’s sentence sends a strong message to MS-13 gang members that their criminal actions cannot, and will not, be tolerated.”
Co-defendants Juan Carlos Espinal-Rapalo, 21, Daniel Adonai Ramos-Romero, 22, and Oscar Delgado-Perez, 26, all of Gaithersburg, are currently detained awaiting sentencing.
Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@moco360.media
