An MS-13 gang member pleaded guilty last Friday in federal court for his involvement in the 2018 murder of a teenage boy in Lynn.
Eliseo VaqueranoCanas, a/k/a “Peligroso,” 21, an El Salvador national, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges more commonly known as RICO. As part of Canas’s guilty plea the reputed gang member admitted his involvement in the July 30, 2018 murder of a 17-year-old boy in Lynn.
MS-13 is a notorious street gang operating in Massachusetts and numerous other states, as well as countries such as El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. MS-13 members follow certain core rules and principles, including that members attack and attempt to kill members of rival gangs, and members do not act as informants or cooperate with law enforcement.
Canas was a member of a local MS-13 “clique”, or smaller groups that operate under the larger mantle of MS-13. Canas was a member of the Sykos Locos Salvatrucha clique of MS-13 and court documents showed that he had “homeboy” status in the gang, which is generally achieved by committing a significant act of violence.
Canas was indicted in federal court in 2018 following an investigation into the murder of the boy whose body was found in a Lynn park on Aug. 2, 2018. The injuries to the victim’s body indicated that the victim had been stabbed dozens of times.
As part of his guilty plea, Canas admitted that on or about July 30, 2018, he participated in that murder while a member of the MS-13 gang.
Canas faces a sentence of up to life in prison. He will also be subject to deportation upon the completion of his sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf scheduled sentencing for June 18, 2021.