In one murder, a victim accused of defacing a rival gang’s graffiti was abducted, strangled and attacked with machetes
June 6, 2026 – LOS ANGELES, CA – A federal jury has found four members of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) guilty of carrying out three gruesome 
murders in the Angeles National Forest in 2017, including the killing of a victim whose heart was carved from his chest. Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Eric W. Siddall prosecuted the case as a cross-designee in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, serving as a Special Assistant United States Attorney.
“These defendants carried out acts of unimaginable brutality in service of a criminal organization that relies on fear, intimidation and murder to maintain its power,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. “Yesterday’s verdicts hold them accountable for taking three lives in a campaign of violence that terrorized communities across Los Angeles County. I commend Deputy District Attorney Eric Siddall for his outstanding work alongside Assistant United States Attorneys Jason C. Pang, William Larsen and Suria M. Bahadue in securing justice for the victims and their families. I recognize and thank former District Attorney Jackie Lacey for her leadership when the Office first filed this case. I also thank the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for their relentless efforts to dismantle MS-13’s violent criminal enterprise. Those who commit murder on behalf of gangs will be found, prosecuted and held accountable.”
Following a 17-day trial, the jury on June 4 found the following defendants guilty of racketeering conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering:
- Angel Amadeo Guzman, 31, of Panorama City;
- Fernando Garcia Parada, 28, of Panorama City;
- Edgard Velasquez, 43, of Reseda; and
- Jose Jonathan Castillo, 34, of Koreatown.
MS-13 Los Angeles operates through subsets, or “cliques,” including the Fulton clique in the San Fernando Valley and the Francis clique in the MacArthur Park area. The gang generates revenue through drug trafficking, extortion, robberies, and other criminal activity, while rewarding members who commit acts of extreme violence.
The murders occurred between March and June 2017. In one killing, gang leaders authorized the execution of a victim accused of defacing a rival gang’s graffiti. The victim was abducted, strangled, transported to the Angeles National Forest, and attacked with machetes before his body was dismembered and discarded in a canyon.
In a second murder, a victim who had fled El Salvador while under suspicion of cooperating with law enforcement was lured to the Angeles National Forest through a social media deception scheme and killed.
In the third killing, gang members targeted an MS-13 associate accused of exaggerating his status within the gang. He was taken to the Angeles National Forest, where he was stabbed and hacked to death.
United States District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. scheduled sentencing hearings for October 20. The defendants face one or more mandatory sentences of life in federal prison.
Federal prosecutors have now secured more than 30 convictions in the long-running MS-13 racketeering prosecution. In November 2025, five additional MS-13 members were convicted of six murders committed to elevate their standing within the gang. Sentencing in those cases will take place at a later date.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The prosecution team includes Special Assistant United States Attorney Eric W. Siddall of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and Assistant United States Attorneys Jason C. Pang, William Larsen and Suria M. Bahadue.
Source: Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
