MS-13 Leader Sentenced to 120 Months for Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering
| U.S. Attorney’s Office April 08, 2009 |
ALEXANDRIA, VA—Erick Turcios-Lazo, also known as “Scorpion,” age 22, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Turcios-Lazo was found guilty on Jan. 22, 2009. Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.
Turcios-Lazo was indicted on Sept. 18, 2008, by a federal grand jury on conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering charges. The jury trial began on Jan. 13, 2009.
According to court documents, Turcios-Lazo is a member of MS-13 and had served as the leader of the Silvas Locos Salvatrucha (SLS) clique of MS-13. Beginning in the summer of 2007 and continuing through January 2008, Turcios-Lazo conspired with other persons to murder L.Q. A member of the SLS clique of MS-13, L.Q. was suspected by other gang members of cooperating with law enforcement. As a result, MS-13 put a “green light” on L.Q. A “green light” is a signal that the gang had approved the killing of someone suspected of cooperating with law enforcement. In and around January 2008, Turcios-Lazo attended general meetings of MS-13 where he and others discussed who would be responsible for carrying out the green light on L.Q.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and members of the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Morris R. Parker, Jr. and Benjamin L. Hatch are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pacer.login.uscourts.gov.