Feds charge nine 'MS-13 gang members' over murderous Nashville crime spree that saw seven slaughtered over two years - including innocent girl, 18, gunned down in back of car
Nine alleged members of the notorious MS-13 gang are facing charges of racketeering conspiracy in connection to a string of crimes, including seven murders committed throughout a span of two years in the Nashville area.
The gang had been operating in Nashville since at least 2014 and are accused of murders, kidnappings, assaults, robberies and drug trafficking, according to the Department of Justice.
The Thompson Place Locos Salvatrucha faction of the gang allegedly conspired in the murders of at least seven people between 2016 and 2017.
Honduran nationals José Pineda-Caceres, 22; Franklin Hernández, 22; Luis Colindres, 24; and Nashville residents Kevin Tidwell, 28; and Jorge Flores, 29, were all charged with 'causing death through the use of a firearm.'
According to WKRN, Pineda-Caceres was identified by authorities as a high-ranking gang leader.
El Salvador native Gerson Serrano-Ramirez, 34; Nashville residents Carlos Ochoa-Martinez, 31; Jason Sandoval, 35; and Juan Melendez, of Lebanon, Tennessee, were charged with RICO conspiracy.
Honduran national José Pineda-Caceres is one of the nine MS-13 gang members who were indicted on racketeering charges related to a string of crimes committed in the Nashville, Tennessee, area from 2016 to 2017. Pineda-Caceres reportedly opened fire on a vehicle on July 31, 2016, 18-year-old Liliana Rodríguez. Her brother is believed to have been the intended target
Liliana Rodríguez was one of seven people killed the MS-13 Thompson Place Locos Salvatrucha faction in Nashville, Tennessee between 2016 and 2017. Rodríguez was riding in the back seat of a car driven by her brother Rodrigo Rodríguez on July 31, 2016 when José Pineda-Caceres reportedly pulled up to their vehicle and opened fire. One of the bullets went through the 8-year-old girl's heart. Her brother was the reported target
Luis Colindres , Jorge Flores , and Franklin Hernandez are identified by the Department of Justice as members of a MS-13 faction that began operating in Nashville in 2014. The trio allegedly lured a victim identified as A.I. to a meeting in the city before fatally shooting him and then burning a car with his body in the trunk on September 24, 2017. That same day, Colindres shot dead two men inside a vehicle and fled
Alleged MS-13 gang member Kevin Tidwell is accused of murdering Jesus Alberto Flores on May 26, 2017. Tidwell assaulted a police officer as he was trying to avoid capture five days later in a high-speed car chase and crashed into the agent's car
The gang's most recent murder took place September 24, 2017 when Flores, Hernández and Colindres reportedly lured a victim identified only as A.I. to a meeting in the city before fatally shooting him and then burning a car with his body in the trunk.
In a separate incident that day, Colindres was captured by a surveillance camera pulling up to a vehicle and firing at a car, killing José Pagada, 24, and Yeri Hernandez Gabino, 29.
The gang's first victim, Jorge Potter, 19, was shot and found dead the morning of April 6, 2016 in a cattle field.
A second victim, 18-year-old Liliana Rodríguez, was gunned down July 31, 2016.
Rodríguez, who had graduated from high school a month before the shooting, was riding in the back seat of a car driven by her brother Rodrigo Rodríguez after they had left a nightclub. A dark colored Infinity G-35 drove up to the vehicle before shots were fired by Pineda-Caceres. One of the bullets went through the teenage girl's heart. Her brother was the reported target.
The Metro Nashville Police said Flores shot dead Ammerli Josue Garcia-Munoz, 25, at a strip mall parking lot May 21, 2017.
On May 26, 2017, Jesus Alberto Flores, 24, was allegedly murdered by Tidwell during a drive-by-shooting. Tidwell assaulted a police officer as he was trying to avoid capture five days later in a high-speed car chase and crashed into the agent's car.
Juan Melendez and Gerson Serrano-Ramirez are among the nine alleged members of the MS-13 who played a role in the gang's two-year crime spree in Nashville
Jason Sandoval and Gerson Serrano-Ramirez are among the nine alleged members of the MS-13 who played a role in the gang's two-year crime spree in Nashville
Many of the gang's 'ruthless acts of violence' targeted innocent people, Acting U.S. Attorney Mary Jane Stewart said.
The indictment alleges several other attempted killings and a kidnapping to prevent someone from cooperating with the authorities.
'Make no mistake about it: MS-13 is one of the most violent, ruthless and cold-blooded gangs to ever walk the face of the earth. And we will be relentless in our efforts to root them out of this community,' Stewart said at a news conference, joined by Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite and state, federal and local authorities.
Each suspects is in federal custody and faces decades of incarceration if convicted, including up to life in prison, prosecutors said.
Liliana Rodriguez was one of seven innocent victims murdered by the MS-13 in Nashville between April 2016 and September 2017
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ahmed Safeeullah said MS-13 members targeted the people they did in the killings because 'individuals in the gang wanted to increase their stature.'
Polite was on hand after he was sworn in to head the Department of Justice's criminal division less than a week ago.
'Removing these criminal actors from the community is a step, but our commitment to improving safety in our communities requires investment in prevention and in intervention,' Polite said.
