MS-13 Gang Members Tied To Las Vegas Murders Charged, Identified

LAS VEGAS, NV - Four MS-13 gang members living in the United States illegally have been charged with the murder of Arquimidez Sandoval-Martinez, whose body was found in the desert east of Las Vegas earlier this year.

The four men are Josue Diaz Orellana, 22; Luis Reyes-Castillo, 24; David Perez-Manchame, 19; and Miguel Torres-Escobar, 20, identified by the Department of Justice's District of Nevada Office in a release Wednesday. All four men are El Salvadoran nationals. They are all being charged with assault with intent to commit murder, kidnapping, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

The announcement was made Wednesday by United States Attorney Dayle Elieson of the District of Nevada, Special Agent in Charge Aaron C. Rouse of the FBI’s Las Vegas Division, and Special Agent in Charge Joseph Macias for Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles.

Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo announced on Monday that four men had been arrested earlier in March in connection with 10 murders across the Las Vegas Valley over the course of a year. However, their names were not released at the time due to an ongoing investigation, LVMPD said.

READ MORE: Five MS-13 Gang Members Arrested And Tied To 10 Las Vegas Murders

In the case of Sandoval-Martinez, the four men are alleged to have kidnapped and murdered him on Jan. 21, 2018. The victim's body was found on Feb. 2 east of Las Vegas in a rural part of Clark County near mile marker 12 on Lake Mead Blvd. According to the release, Sandoval-Martinez tried to escape, but was tied up and then shot and stabbed to death by the men.

The investigation into the murder showed that a cellphone belonging to Diaz-Orellana was tracked near the Downtown Las Vegas club where Sandoval-Martinez was last seen, as well as near the area where his body was discovered.

A vehicle being driven by Diaz-Orellana was stopped on March 2, with the other three suspects inside. According to a release, officers found a large butcher knife, a baseball hat with what appeared to be a bloodstain on it, and three 9mm handguns in the car. The subsequent investigation yielded 18 guns total and led to the arrest of a juvenile suspect, LVMPD said Monday.

The other nine murder victims were identified on Monday by LVMPD as Daniel Clark, Richard Gaudio, Carlos Pachaca-Rodriguez, Juan Carlos Estrada Raya, Jose Hernandez, Ricardo Olivas, Izaak Towery, Earl Ryan, and Rony Fuentes. Police say their deaths occurred across the Las Vegas Valley in the past year. Only charges related to Sandoval-Martinez's death were announced Wednesday.

The four men are being held in federal custody. All but Diaz-Orellana were scheduled to appear in federal court on Wednesday in front of Judge Cam Ferenbach in Las Vegas. A date for Diaz-Orellana has not been set yet, the release said.

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