MS-13 Driver in 2007 Murder in Springfield Sentenced to Life in Prison

May 21, 2010 - ALEXANDRIA, VA—Carlos Bladimir Montoya, also known as "Ciego," 26, of Sterling, Va., was sentenced today to life plus a consecutive 120 months in prison for his role in the murder of a rival gang member on May 5, 2007.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office; and Colonel David Rohrer, Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

“In the past year, four MS-13 gang members have received life sentences for killing rival gang members,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “We’re determined to put an end to gang violence and punish those responsible.”

“The Washington Field Office’s Northern Virginia Gang Task Force, comprised of federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, works to identify, disrupt, and dismantle violent criminal gangs who seek to threaten members of our community,” said Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Today’s and recent sentencings should send a clear message to individuals who are part of these violent criminal enterprises; we will not tolerate your actions, no matter the group you hide within.”

On Jan. 21, 2010, a jury found Montoya guilty of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering activity, aiding and abetting murder in aid of racketeering activity, and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a crime of violence causing death.

According to court documents and evidence at trial, Montoya was the leader of the Unidos Locos Salvatrucha (ULS) clique of MS-13. On the night of May 5, 2007, he drove four fellow MS-13 gang members, including Oscar Lobo-Lopez, also known as “Joker,” and Sergio Amador Amador, also known as “Dado,” to the 7200 block of Commerce Street in Springfield, Va, where Lobo-Lopez and Amador fatally shot Melvin Reyes, also known as “Pelon.”

After Montoya and other MS-13 gang members had patrolled for Reyes in the days preceding the murder, the five MS-13 members located Reyes at the Springfield Garden apartments. The four passengers exited the vehicle. Lobo-Lopez and Amador, armed with handguns, chased and fatally shot Reyes. The five gang members fled the scene in Montoya’s vehicle. In the days following the murder, Montoya drove the two of gang members involved in the murder to a bus station in Washington, D.C., to travel to New York. The firearms used in the murder were recovered months later in Long Island, N.Y., by the Suffolk County Police Department.

Reyes suffered from seven gunshot wounds at the time of his death. The MS-13 gang members killed Reyes because he was believed to be a member of the rival 18th Street gang. The rules of MS-13 require its members to attack and/or kill rival gang members.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Fairfax County Police Department, and the Suffolk County Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Morris Parker and Rebeca Bellows prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.