FRESNO - On Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, a jury found Israel Alberto Rivas Gomez, 27, a citizen of El Salvador unlawfully residing in Mendota, guilty of kidnapping and murder in aid of racketeering, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Rivas Gomez was a member of La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13). This violent criminal street gang engages in racketeering, including murder, kidnapping, extortion, and drug trafficking. On Dec. 18, 2017, Rivas Gomez and other MS-13 gang members kidnapped a 19-year-old man in Mendota, drove him to a remote location approximately 30 minutes away, and used a knife and machete to murder him, all in furtherance of MS-13's criminal gang enterprise.
"This conviction is the culmination of years of incredible teamwork between our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners," said U.S. Attorney Talbert. "In August 2018, we announced the arrest of 25 individuals, including Rivas Gomez, associated with the MS-13 gang after investigators found evidence of broad criminal activity centered in and around the Central Valley town of Mendota. This defendant murdered a young man, bringing untold harm to the victim's family. The U.S. Attorney's Office is committed to dismantling criminal enterprises like MS-13, and, equally important, to vindicating the rights of victims and seeking justice for their family members and loved ones."
"This case highlights the importance and advantage of employing a collaborative investigative approach to disrupt MS-13's violent activity in California's central valley," said Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Sacramento Field Office. "The FBI is deeply committed to mitigating the threat of violent criminal organizations nationwide and, locally, we are proud of our strong relationships with law enforcement partners. Together, we can ensure a safer future for central valley families that deserve to live, work, and play without fear."
"This verdict represents another important victory in the ongoing effort to rid our neighborhoods of violent transnational street gangs like MS-13 who terrorize our communities and commit the most heinous violent acts against their victims," said HSI San Francisco / NorCal Special Agent in Charge Tatum King. "Bringing this criminal to justice is a direct result of the strong partnerships between HSI agents/analysts and local and federal law enforcement officers and prosecutors who are all in this fight together. We will remain diligent in pursuing transnational criminal organizations without regard for the law or human life."
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the California Department of Justice and the California Highway Patrol Special Operations Unit, the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC), the Fresno County District Attorney's Office, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Special Services Unit (SSU). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ross Pearson, Christopher D. Baker, and Kimberly Sanchez prosecuted the case.
Rivas Gomez is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on Dec. 16, 2022. Rivas Gomez faces a mandatory statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the court's discretion after considering any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence and make our neighborhoods safer. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
