A reputed MS-13 member pleaded guilty in federal court last week to racketeering conspiracy that included his participation in the 2018 murder of a Lynn teen.
Jonathan Tercero Yanes, a/k/a “Desalmado,” 24, a national of El Salvador will be sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf on Sept. 15, 2021.
According to the Department of Justice, Tercero Yanes was indicted in 2018 following an investigation into the murder of a teenage boy whose body was found in a park in Lynn 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 plea, Tercero Yanes admitted that on or about July 30, 2018, he participated in that murder while a member of the MS-13 gang.
Tercero Yanes is the 4th defendant in this case to plead guilty and accept responsibility for his participation in the Lynn teen’s murder.
In July 2020, Erick Lopez Flores, a/k/a “Mayimbu,” 31, of Lynn, and Marlos Reyes, a/k/a “Silencio,” 20, of Chelsea, pleaded guilty in separate proceedings before Judge Wolf for their participation in the Lynn teen’s murder.
In February 2021, Eliseo Vaquerano Canas, a/k/a “Peligroso,” 21, an El Salvador national, also pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges for his involvement in the murder.
Tercero Yanes now faces a sentence of up to life in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Tercero Yanes will also be subject to deportation upon the completion of his sentence.
MS-13 is a transnational street gang operating in Lynn and numerous other cities across the U.S. The gang’s international influence spreads to El Salvador, where it was founded, 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.
MS-13 is organized in Massachusetts and elsewhere in the form of so-called “cliques” or smaller groups that operate under the larger mantle of MS-13. Tercero Yanes was a member of the Sykos Locos Salvatrucha clique of MS-13. Achieving promotion in MS-13 generally requires the commission of a significant act of violence.