U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday the resolution of four Florida homicide cases linked to MS-13 gang activity at a press conference in Fort Lauderdale.
Bondi also revealed federal murder charges against three MS-13 gang members, all of whom she stated were in the country illegally.
The news conference included the FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC), the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony, along with representatives from the Broward Sheriff’s Office, BSO’s Cold Case Homicide Unit and Gang Investigations Task Force, the FBI, U.S. Border Patrol, and other law enforcement agencies.
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According to Bondi, the arrests of Jose Ezequiel Gamez-Maravilla, Hugo Adiel Bermudez-Martinez, and Wilber Rosendo Navarro-Escobar are connected to four cold case homicides related to gang activity that occurred in Broward and Palm Beach Counties in 2014 and 2015.
These three individuals are the final of nine defendants to be taken into custody as part of a larger operation known as ‘Operation Shadow of the Beast. ’
Bondi began the conference by addressing the families of the victims:
“To our victim’s families, first, we met with them earlier. Thank you for being here. And we’re so sorry, and as Sheriff Tony said, your victim was not just sitting there in a box of papers. They are a victim, and that’s why they have spent a decade finding some of these people who have killed your loved ones,” said Bondi.
READ: FBI, AG Pam Bondi Announce Arrest Of MS-13 East Coast Leader Living In Virginia
One of the cases involved the forensic excavation and recovery of a victim’s remains in Oakland Park, which occurred in May 2021, several years after the murder.
Bondi described the brutality of one of the crimes: “The victim in this case was brutally murdered. Stabbed approximately 100 times by multiple gang members before getting shot in the head. He suffered a warning to all criminals. We don’t care how long or where you go. We will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
This announcement follows the arrest of a 24-year-old man in Virginia the previous week, who was believed to be among the top three MS-13 leaders in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security reported that ICE had arrested over 1100 criminals and gang members, with approximately 39 suspected to be MS-13 members.
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