MS-13 Member Sentenced 27 Years for July 2009 Alexandria Murder

ALEXANDRIA, VA—MS-13 member Eris Ramon Arguera, 21, of Alexandria, Va., was sentenced today to 324 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in the murder of a pimp while robbing the pimp and a prostitute in Alexandria on July 29, 2009.

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 Earl L. Cook, Alexandria Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.

On April 5, 2010, Arguera pled guilty to conspiring to commit robbery and extortion and the aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in the death of the pimp, Claros Luna, through the use of a handgun.

According to court records, Arguera and two other MS-13 gang members—Adolfo Amaya Portillo and Alcides Umaña—posed as potential customers for prostitution and lured Luna and a prostitute to Manor Road in Alexandria, Va., on July 29, 2009.

Once Luna and the prostitute arrived at Manor Road, the prostitute exited the vehicle and entered the apartment building at 704 Manor Road. Arguera, brandishing a handgun, met the prostitute in the lobby and directed her to the nearby vehicle where Luna sat waiting in the driver’s seat. Arguera and the prostitute entered the rear driver’s side door of the vehicle. Portillo, armed with a handgun, entered the front passenger door. Umaña, armed with a knife, entered the rear passenger-side door of the vehicle. Portillo demanded rent or extortion payments from Luna. Luna attempted to grab Portillo’s handgun. Umaña then put his knife to Luna’s throat. Portillo and Arguera fatally shot Luna three times. Portillo fired two of the three fatal shots—one to Luna’s chest and a second contact wound to Luna’s head. A third shot entered the left side of Luna’s back and exited his chest. Portillo, Arguera, and Umaña then took the money that Luna and the prostitute had earned from the prostitution business that day.

Arguera fled the area after the murder and was hiding in Texas until his arrest by law enforcement. A citizen of El Salvador, Arguera is in the United States illegally and will be turned over to immigration authorities following his release from prison for deportation proceedings.

This case was investigated by the Alexandria Police Department and FBI’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from the Fairfax County and Arlington County Police Departments and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s Office of Investigations in Washington, D.C. Assistant United States Attorneys Ronald Walutes and Morris Parker prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.