Horrifying details of MS-13 suspects’ murder spree across California and Nevada

Three alleged MS-13 gang members are on trial for a violent crime spree across California and Nevada, where prosecutors say they hunted victims to strengthen their status in the gang.

Joel Vargas-Escobar, David Arturo Perez-Manchame, and Jose Luis Reynaldo Reyes-Castillo face multiple charges, including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping in aid of racketeering, and weapons offenses, in connection with the deaths of 11 people between 2017 and 2018. In court Monday at the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse in Las Vegas, jurors heard that the defendants spent many nights actively seeking victims to abduct and kill.

“They went out hunting, looking for people they could kill,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanee Smith told the court, describing the slaying of 21-year-old Izaak Towery. Towery was allegedly targeted after being mistaken for a member of MS-13’s rival, the 18th Street gang.

Accused gang member with extensive tattoos on his head and back stands in a prison. — The three alleged members of the MS-13 gang are on trial in Las Vegas. Getty Images

According to prosecutors, Towery was kidnapped at knifepoint in Las Vegas in February 2018 and stabbed 235 times. Smith noted that Towery, who spoke only English, was questioned in Spanish and had no understanding of what was happening.

The jury also heard about 19-year-old Abel Rodriguez, who prosecutors said was stabbed so severely that his body was nearly unrecognizable when discovered in a field.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Perez-Manchame and Reyes-Castillo are charged in Towery’s murder. Reyes-Castillo is additionally accused in Rodriguez’s killing, along with other defendants who have agreed to cooperate with authorities.

Inmates with tattoos on their faces, necks, and torsos stand behind metal bars. — The three are face charges in connection with the brutal killing of 11 people from 2017 to 2018. Getty Images

Inmates with numerous tattoos on their faces, heads, and torsos stand behind metal bars in a prison cell. — The suspects hunted humans to boost their standing in the gang. Getty Images

Defense attorney Richard Wright urged jurors to be cautious about testimony from cooperating witnesses. “The more you squeal, the better the deal,” he told the court.

Reyes-Castillo and Perez-Manchame are also indicted in the murder of 21-year-old Arquimidez Sandoval-Martinez, another Salvadoran national. Sandoval-Martinez’s body was found riddled with bullets and mutilated in the desert outside Las Vegas in 2018.

A smiling young man in a suit and light blue shirt, with his hands in his pockets, stands on a paved surface. — Izaak Towery was mistaken as a member of MS-13’s rival gang, 18th Street.

A young man with light brown hair, wearing a white tank top and purple earbuds, with eyebrow piercings, stands in front of a light-colored ribbed wall. — Towery was stabbed 235 times after being abducted off the streets in Vegas by knifepoint in February 2018.

Court documents detail that Sandoval-Martinez was abducted from a downtown Las Vegas nightclub. He was reportedly bound with shoelaces, taken to the desert, stabbed with a machete, and shot. His body was recovered 12 days later.

The trial, expected to continue for about three months, will examine the scope of the alleged gang killings and the involvement of the accused in this violent spree.

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