ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Even in the violent world of the MS-13 street gang, the killings in northern Virginia in the summer of 2019 stood out. In that year, “the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area became an MS-13 hunting ground,” in the words of prosecutors. Law enforcement had become accustomed to MS-13 killings involving rival gang members, or ones in which MS-13 members themselves became victims when suspicions arose that they were cooperating with police. What was new, prosecutors say, was that victims were chosen at random, with no connection to MS-13 or any other gang. On Tuesday, gang leader Melvin Canales Saldana, whose orders set off the killings, was sentenced to life in prison, as was another gang member convicted of carrying out one of them. A third member was sentenced to 14 years in prison after he was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder but was acquitted of carrying out the killing himself. |
News organizations have trust issues as they gear up to cover another election, a poll findsDozens of protesters against soDonald Trump trial LIVE: ExExpanding clergy sexual abuse probe targets New Orleans Catholic church leadersArmed groups besieging towns in northeastern Mali driving residents, many children, to hungerText of the policy statement the Federal Reserve released WednesdayWarsaw synagogue attacked with three firebombs in the night, but no one is hurtStarbucks lowers guidance, promises new drinks and deals after customer traffic fell in weak Q2Former students of the forTrump awarded 36 million more Trump Media shares worth $1.8 billion after hitting price benchmarks