Another MS-13 gang member receives lengthy prison sentence for racketeering conspiracy
Another member of the transnational MS-13 gang’s former Greater Columbus clique is headed to federal prison for his part in multiple murders and other crimes.
Cruz Alberto-Arbarngas, 34, formerly of the Northeast Side, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus in Columbus to 35 years in prison. Alberto-Arbarngas pleaded guilty in May in U.S. District Court in Columbus to a felony count of conspiracy to commit racketeering.
To date, 22 people have been convicted for involvement in MS-13’s Columbus-area operations on myriad criminal counts as part of a years-long federal investigation involving the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, immigration officials, local law enforcement and others.
The larger case included five local and three out-of-state murders, drug trafficking and other violent offenses. The killings were heinous, with several involving machetes.
Ten of the defendants have been sentenced to 30 or more years in prison, including two who received life without the possibility of parole.
Among other crimes, prosecutors linked Alberto-Arbarngas to four murders, including the 2015 mutilation killing of Wilson Villeda, a 17-year-old high school student believed to be part of a rival gang, according to documents.
In their pre-sentencing filings to Judge Sargus, prosecutors described Alberto-Arbarngas as "a loyal, eager, and active gang member who involved himself in the most serious aspects of the organization’s operations over a number of years. The defendant began associating with MS-13 shortly after illegally entering the United States and settling in Columbus in 2005. After being deported in 2010 and 2012, respectively, the defendant illegally returned to Columbus in May 2015 and picked up right where he left off.”
In a separate court filing, Alberto-Arbarngas' defense attorney, Isabella Dixon, stated that while her client did associate with MS-13 and admits to selling small quantities of drugs, he "vehemently denied participation in any murders, extortion, and/or physical assaults of any kind."
Dixon wrote in a pre-sentence memorandum that her client was prepared to go to trial to defend himself against the more serious allegations. Alberto- Arbarngus "has no formal education. He does not read or write in Spanish or English,” she said.
mkovac@dispatch.com
@OhioCapitalBlog
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Another MS-13 gang member gets lengthy federal prison sentence
