This release was originally issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Office of the Attorney General, whose media contact is Emalie Gainey at (617) 727-2200.

SALEM, MA—A member of a violent national street gang has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to eight to ten years in state prison in connection with plotting to shoot two “renegade” gang members, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today.

Miguel Negron, age 40, of Holyoke, pleaded guilty on Friday in Essex Superior Court to charges of Conspiracy to Commit Murder (2 Counts), Conspiracy to Commit Armed Home Invasion, and Conspiracy to Commit Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon.

After the plea was entered, Superior Court Judge James Lang sentenced Negron to eight to ten years in state prison, with two years of probation to serve upon his release.

“This defendant was part of a dangerous and violent criminal enterprise that threatened the safety of our communities,” AG Coakley said. “He will now serve time in state prison for conspiring to shoot two other gang members. This sentence is the result of a joint prosecution between our office and the FBI and we thank them for their efforts in bringing this criminal to justice.”

“This is a significant disruption to the Latin Kings organization. The threat to our communities posed by gangs like this one will never be taken lightly by the FBI,” said Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “The FBI would like to thank our state and local law enforcement partners who continue to help us target criminals like gang leader Miguel Negron in order to keep our neighborhoods safe.”

In 2012, the FBI referred a North Shore Gang Task Force investigation into the Almighty Latin Kings and Queen Nation (Latin Kings) to the AG’s Office. The Latin Kings are a national violent street gang with chapters across the country.

Through the investigation, authorities discovered that three leaders of Massachusetts chapters of the gang orchestrated a meeting with more than 30 Latin King members to discuss killing two members within the gang that were “running renegade.” Those leaders were Negron, who was the leader of the Western Massachusetts chapter, Miguel Rodriquez, leader of the Chelsea chapter, and Frutoso Barros, leader of the Boston chapter.

During this meeting, the three leaders developed a plan to shoot two rival members within the gang who were based in Chicopee and Lynn and who they believed were creating confusion within the gang and disrespecting the rules of the Latin Kings. One week later, law enforcement intercepted 23 Latin Kings on their way to Lynn to commit the assault and recovered one handgun from the three-car caravan.

Negron, Rodriquez and Barros were indicted by a Statewide Grand Jury in November 2013. Barros is currently set for trial on Feb. 17, 2014. Rodriguez is in federal custody serving a sentence and has yet to be arraigned.

The case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Marina Moriarty of Attorney General Coakley’s Enterprise and Major Crimes Division. The case was investigated by the FBI and the North Shore Gang Task Force, with assistance from the State Police, Department of Correction, Chelsea Police, Western Massachusetts Gang Task Force, Boston Police, Lynn Police, Malden Police, Holyoke Police and Springfield Police Departments.