'Most Wanted' Fugitive Admits Murdering Union Co. Man

UNION COUNTY, NJ — A former Plainfield fugitive admitted to the brutal murder of a fellow gang member in 2011, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced Monday. Walter Yovany-Gomez, 35, was placed on the FBI's list of "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" in April 2017 for the murder of Julio Matute on May 8, 2011.

Yovany-Gomez on Monday pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy (homicide) before U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler in Newark federal court.

The racketeering conspiracy charge Yovany-Gomez admitted to has a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. The plea agreement between him and the government states he must serve 25 years in prison if the court accepts the plea agreement. Sentencing is scheduled for July 31.

Related: Plainfield Man Named FBI's 'Ten Most Wanted Fugitives'

Yovany-Gomez was found guilty of murdering Julio Matute in his Plainfield apartment on May 8, 2011. He and co-conspirator Cruz Flores hit Matute in the head with a baseball bat, sliced his throat with a kitchen knife, and stabbed Matute in the back 17 times with screwdriver, Carpentio said. Both Yovany-Gomez and Flores were members of Plainfield Locos Salvatrucha (PLS), a New Jersey branch of the MS-13 gang.

Yovany-Gomez jumped out of a second-story window when authorities went to question him at his Plainfield apartment. He went to the Maryland and Virginia area, authorities said, to avoid prosecution and lived there under an alias until he was arrested in August 2017. He has ties to both Virginia and Maryland and was known to have used a number of aliases.

The co-conspirator was later arrested, charged, and found guilty of Matute's homicide.

Yovany-Gomez was originally indicted by a Newark grand jury in September 2013 along with 13 other PLS members for various gang-related offenses.

A federal warrant was issued for Yovany-Gomez's arrest. He was charged with violent crime in aid of racketeering (homicide) and conspiracy to commit murder in the aid of racketeering. He was arrested in Woodbridge, Virginia based on tips authorities received from the public.

The FBI offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Yovany-Gomez's arrest.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com