HOLLYWOOD—The last of 31 MS-13 gang members have been caught and charged with extortion. Those last members were operating two extortion rings that were targeting food truck owners around the Hollywood area.
On Friday, April 8 Mara Salvatruch, 32, a member of the MS-13 gang was sentenced to 38 years to life in state prison. The combined sentences total more than 560 years in state prison for all 31 gang members, said Deputy District Attorney Mark Inaba.
There were five separate grand jury indictments stemming from January 28, 2013, in which 24 MS-13 gang members were charged with taking money from food truck owners operating on Western Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard.
The 24 members that were caught pleaded guilty or were convicted by a jury for conspiracy and extortion charges. The incidents spanned over a five year period beginning July 2007.
MS-13 members arrested ranged in age from 17 to 63 when they were indicted in January 2013. They were sentenced in terms ranging from 8 years up to 20 years. Seven of the indicted members of MS-13 were also convicted of extorting a former member who was trying to get out of the gang.
Canyon News spoke with Jane Robison, Assistant Media Chief of Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
“As the release said, the cases were the result of multiple investigations. The investigations took more than a year. We have no additional comments,” said Robison.
