BROOKLYN, N.Y. — In court documents obtained by WTOL 11, United States prosecutors told a judge that the Department of Justice is still weighing whether or not to seek the death penalty against purported MS-13 gang leader Edenilson Velasquez Larin, who was arrested on the Ohio Turnpike on June 7.
Two weeks after his arrest, an indictment was unsealed against Velasquez Larin and 22 other alleged MS-13 members. Velasquez Larin, 33, is accused of ordering multiple murders and running the MS-13 drug empire in Long Island.
In total, Velasquez Larin faces 10 charges:
- racketeering conspiracy
- murder in-aid-of racketeering
- assault in-aid-of racketeering
- attempted murder in-aid-of racketeering
- unlawful use, possession, brandishing and discharging of firearms
- causing death through use of firearms
- conspiracy to commit murder in-aid-of racketeering
- money laundering conspiracy
- narcotics distribution conspiracy
- continuing criminal enterprise
The June 7 arrest by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper from the Bucyrus District was captured on the trooper’s body cam.
When Velasquez Larin was asked to step into the back of the trooper’s car, he offered no resistance.
In a status letter filed on Monday in the Eastern District Court of New York, prosecutors said Tito Martinez-Alvarenga, Jose Espinoza Sanchez, Oscar Hernandez Baires, Emerson Martinez-Lara and Ismael Santos-Novoa are also eligible for the death penalty for allegedly carrying out murders dating back to 2018.
Prosecutors said they are negotiating with defense attorneys on producing evidence in the case. In the status letter addressed to Judge DeArcy Hall, they said evidence includes “telephone records, surveillance video, police reports, seized drugs and firearms, and the contents of several dozen seized cellular devices.”
The government also told Hall that plea deal negotiations have gotten under way for several defendants, though they did not name which defendants. Several defendants, including Blanca Garcia, who identified herself as Velasquez Larin’s fiancée during the June 7 traffic stop, are charged with drug and money laundering offenses.
Prosecutors asked the judge to schedule three total trials. One will be for three alleged MS-13 members accused of beating a 17-year-old to death in 2018. That trial should take place in late 2024 or early 2025. The other two trials would include any defendants who do not reach plea deals with the government.
No dates have been suggested, but prosecutors estimate the trials will each take up to six weeks.
The full court document is below and also available at this link. You can also watch body cam video below of Velasquez Larin’s arrest.