Issued August 4, 2026 – U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York
Today, Edwin Chavez-Garay, also known as “Spooky” and “Cruger,” and Jairo Diaz-Gamez, also known as “Cameleon” and “Antonimo,” who are both members of the Vegas Locos Salvatruchas (Vegas) subgroup or “clique” of the MS-13, a violent transnational organization, were arraigned in federal court in Central Islip on a second superseding indictment charging them with racketeering offenses in connection with two murders—the February 19, 2016 murder of Miguel Garcia-Moran in Brentwood, New York, and the August 19, 2023 murder of Carlos Lemus Interiano in Fort Washington, Maryland—and with other charges including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and narcotics trafficking conspiracy (the Superseding Indictment). The Superseding Indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on July 30, 2026, also contains allegations against six previously charged defendants, all members of the MS-13, related to two additional murders on Long Island and other crimes. United States Magistrate Judge Anne Y. Shields ordered both defendants detained pending trial.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Pete Gizas, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York); James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Kevin Catalina, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the arrests and charges.
“The charges in the Superseding Indictment demonstrate the commitment by our Office and our law enforcement partners to hold vicious transnational organized crime groups like MS-13 accountable for their crimes, no matter how long it takes,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Too many families in our community have been permanently separated from their loved ones at a young age because of the ruthless and senseless violence of the MS-13, and we will not stop investigating until everyone is held accountable.”
Mr. Nocella expressed his grateful appreciation to the Washington and Baltimore Field Offices of the FBI, the New York City Police Department, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations New York, the Prince George’s Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Maryland-National Capital Park Police, the Prince William County Police Department, and the United States Marshal Service, for their valuable assistance and partnership in this case.
“Two families spent years carrying the unbearable weight of unanswered questions while these accused MS-13 killers continued their lives as though they had not helped leave devastation in their wake. The charges announced today lay bare the brutality of these crimes: a 15-year-old boy allegedly lured into the woods in Brentwood and beaten to death with metal rods, and a Long Island man allegedly taken to Maryland and killed after falling out of favor with the gang. HSI New York, as a co-leader of the Homeland Security Task Force, remains steadfast in its mission to pursue violent transnational gangs, support our law enforcement partners, and help deliver long-overdue accountability for victims and their families,” stated HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Gizas.
“The FBI condemns the brutal violence carried out by MS 13, including two murders that have deeply shaken our community,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle. “Working closely with our partners, we remain unwavering in our pursuit of justice for the victims and their families. Protecting the people of New York is our top priority, and we will continue to take decisive, coordinated action to disrupt, dismantle, and hold accountable any group that threatens public safety.
“Thanks to the dedicated efforts of law enforcement and our partners at EDNY, this pair is now being held accountable for a series of crimes dating back a decade, proving that we do not relent in our pursuit of justice,” stated SCPD Commissioner Catalina. “The killings carried out by these gang members were barbaric and senseless. The victims’ families have endured unimaginable loss, and we will continue working with our partners to dismantle criminal networks and prevent others from suffering the same pain and fear.”
As alleged in the Superseding Indictment, Chavez-Garay and Diaz-Gamez participated in the murder of Garcia-Moran, a 15-year-old boy, who the defendants wrongly believed was a member of a rival gang. On February 19, 2016, the defendants lured the victim to a wooded area in Brentwood, behind 80 Emjay Boulevard, where they beat him to death with metal rods. On September 21, 2016, members of the FBI and the SCPD, who were looking for evidence in connection with another MS-13 victim whose body was recovered in the same area, located skeletal remains which were later identified as those of Garcia-Moran. Years later, Chavez-Garay and Diaz-Gamez, who continued to rise in rank in the Vegas clique, lured Lemus Interiano, a resident of Huntington, New York, to Maryland so that he could be killed. Lemus Interiano, a member of the Vegas clique, had fallen out of favor with the gang, and was targeted for death by not only the Vegas clique but also co-defendant Gervin Barrera-Perez, a member of the Huntington clique. On August 19, 2023, Chavez-Garay and Diaz-Gamez drove Lemus Interiano to Maryland, where he was shot and killed in a wooded area. In February 2025, law enforcement in Maryland, while searching for another body, recovered Lemus Interiano’s arm bone at Piscataway Stream Valley Park in Fort Washington, Maryland. A subsequent search and excavation led to the discovery of additional evidence, including more human remains, clothing, and a bullet. Between the end of 2023 and March 2025, Chavez-Garay and Diaz-Gamez participated in the conspiracy to murder Carlos Lopez-Lopez, who was eventually stabbed to death and drowned after being attacked on the beach in Blue Point, New York. Lopez-Lopez, a former member of the MS-13, was targeted because the gang members believed that he was cooperating with law enforcement. Three co-defendants in this case were previously charged with having committed that murder.
Finally, the Superseding Indictment charges Chavez-Garay and Diaz-Gamez with conspiring to distribute cocaine and marijuana. These charges stem from the MS-13 cliques’ street-level sales of cocaine and marijuana on Long Island, the proceeds of which were used to help finance the MS-13’s criminal operations, including purchasing firearms, ammunition, and other weapons, and sending money to MS-13 leadership in the United States and Central America.
The Superseding Indictment is the latest in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York targeting members of the MS-13, a violent transnational criminal organization. The MS-13 is comprised primarily of immigrants from Central America, and it has leaders in El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, and the United States, with thousands of members all over the world. With numerous branches, or “cliques,” the MS-13 is the most violent criminal organization on Long Island. Since 2003, hundreds of MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York. A majority of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges for participating in murders, attempted murders, and assaults. Since 2010 alone, this Office has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 75 murders in the Eastern District of New York, and it has convicted dozens of MS-13 leaders and members in connection with those murders. These prosecutions are the product of extensive collaboration with numerous law enforcement agencies, including HSI, FBI, and local and state partners.
The charges in the Superseding Indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, each of the defendants faces up to life in prison, or the possibility of the death penalty.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative aimed at eradicating transnational criminal organizations, combating violent crime, and restoring the rule of law.
This case is also part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigation, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
The government’s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Megan E. Farrell and Paul G. Scotti are in charge of the prosecution.
New Defendants:
EDWIN CHAVEZ-GARAY (also known as “Spooky” and “Cruger”)
Age: 25
Brentwood, New York
JAIRO DIAZ-GAMEZ (also known as “Cameleon” and “Anonimo”)
Age: 27
Bayshore, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-209 (S-2) (GRB)
