Alexandria MS-13 Gang Members Sentenced For Violent Attack

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Two MS-13 gang members in Alexandria have been sentenced to prison time for a violent assault in 2018 that happened in Arlington County. According to federal prosecutors, Juan Francisco Rivera-Pineda, 25, and Jefferson Noe Amaya, 25, are members of the Pinos Locos Salvatrucha (PLS) clique of MS-13, based in the Chirilagua area of Alexandria.

On Dec. 30, 2018, a 40-year-old victim and two friends were in Four Mile Run Park in Arlington County when Rivera-Pineda, Amaya, and a third unidentified person confronted him. Prosecutors believe the victim's nephew had been warned to not sell drugs in PLS territory without paying rent. Rivera-Pineda and Amaya shot the victim in the throat and arm and stabbed him in the torso. The victim was taken to the hospital and survived after surgery.

Rivera-Pineda and Amaya each pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Rivera-Pineda was sentenced to 161 months (over 13 years) in prison, and Amaya was sentenced to 177 months (over 14 years). Each sentence included a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in the statement the case exemplifies why local leaders need to recognize and address MS-13 concerns in Northern Virginia.

"No one suffers more at the hands of MS-13 than other individuals of Central American birth or ancestry," said Terwilliger. "MS-13 gang members extort minority owned businesses in their own communities, sexually traffic first generation American juveniles, and brutally assault and even murder Hispanic boys and girls who they believe have disrespected the gang. This case is proof positive of the need for community leaders in Northern Virginia to acknowledge this reality and work to be part of the solution."