Waving a revolver in front of the jury in the trial of two alleged Montgomery County-based MS-13 gang members, U.S. Attorney Chan Park explained Tuesday how the two could be convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, even if they were not the ones to pull the trigger.
Israel Cruz, 30 and Santo Garcia, 30, both of Silver Spring, are charged with running a fearsome gang that prosecutors say was responsible for eight homicides in Maryland and Virginia. The charges also include conspiring in the assault of juvenile women, rival gang members and an MS-13 member from El Salvador, where the gang was born.
They are being tried in the U.S. District Court of Maryland in Greenbelt.
But they were not the ones who committed the act, Park said. Instead, they guided and led others to do the dirty work for them.
“[Cruz] has in his mind what’s best for the gang and to maintain his strength and sees that the rules are followed,” Park said, referring to one incident in which Cruz allegedly gave the green light for the shooting death of a member of his MS-13 clique who, prosecutors argue, was about to start talking to police.
