Las Vegas federal jurors returned guilty verdicts Monday against three men accused of being MS-13 gang officials and committing a series of murders.

But the jury did not return a guilty verdict on each count or for every one of the 11 killings that the men were accused of carrying out.

U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro said some of the 34 counts ended in mistrial and indicated there could be a second trial for those charges.

The verdict brings to a close a complex, monthslong federal trial, which involved testimony about the inner workings of the gang and occurred as a national battle played out over immigration.

The Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 gang started in Los Angeles in the 1980s and engages in crimes such as murder, human smuggling and drug trafficking in the United States and other countries, according to the National Counterterrorism Center. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanee Smith told jurors during the trial that the gang’s purpose is not to enrich members, but to encourage violence and loyalty.

Jose Luis Reynaldo Reyes-Castillo, 30, David Arturo Perez-Manchame, 27, and Joel Vargas-Escobar, 30, began their trial in March.

“I’m very glad, I’m very glad,” said Cindy Towery, step-grandmother of victim Izaak Towery after learning that Perez-Manchame and Reyes-Castillo had been found guilty in his murder. “They can rot in hell with whatever sentence they have. I’m glad somebody was made accountable for taking his life.”

Towery was forced into a car at knife-point and stabbed 235 times, according to prosecutors.

Reyes-Castillo was found guilty in connection with nine killings, Perez-Manchame in connection with two and Vargas-Escobar in connection with one.

Prosecutors said the defendants would be subject to removal proceedings if they were ever released from custody, but that all three now face a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison without parole.

Defendants’ ties to killings

Authorities did not allege that every slaying was directly carried out by all three defendants on trial, but each of the men was accused in connection with multiple killings. Prosecutors argued the slayings, in Nevada and California between 2017 and 2018, were committed on behalf of MS-13 to advance the defendants’ standing in the gang hierarchy.

The killings were brutal.

Prosecutors said many of the victims were tortured and killed after being abducted to remote mountain and desert locations. One was left unrecognizable. In many, the defendants were also alleged to have been prompted by flimsy information tying those killed to a rival gang.

Though each man was found guilty of playing a role in at least one killing, on some counts, jurors could not reach a decision.

They left blank on a verdict form counts related to the killing of 29-year-old Daniel Clark at an apartment complex on Triest Court, near East Bonanza Road and North Lamb Boulevard.

During the trial, cooperating witness Alexander De Jesus Figueroa-Torres testified about carrying out that killing, saying, “He screamed a lot because he didn’t want to die, but I kept shooting at him.”

Defense attorneys attacked the credibility of him and other cooperating witnesses.

“So you’re a murderer, a thief, a drug dealer and a liar, correct?” attorney Monti Levy asked Figueroa-Torres at one point.

“That’s correct,” he replied.

Vargas-Escobar was accused of also participating in the slaying of Clark.

Jurors found Reyes-Castillo guilty of killing Carlos Pachaca-Rodriguez and Arquimidez Sandoval-Martinez, among others. Perez-Manchame was also accused of participating in the killing of Sandoval-Martinez, but jurors did not check either the guilty or not guilty box for him in relation to that slaying.

Asked to determine whether Perez-Manchame and Reyes-Castillo were guilty of killing Juan Carlos Estrada-Raya, jurors were again unable to decide and did not select guilty or not guilty for either defendant.

In total, jurors could not reach a verdict on Perez-Manchame’s involvement in five killings.

Jurors found both Reyes-Castillo and Vargas-Escobar guilty of murder in aid of racketeering for the 2017 death of Richard Gaudio.

Defense attorneys declined to comment after court.

Trump administration touts convictions

Federal authorities issued triumphant statements.

“These convictions deliver a clear and uncompromising message: MS 13’s violence will be met with the full power of federal prosecution,” Nevada First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah said in a news release. “These defendants carried out a campaign of terror marked by murders, kidnappings, and brutality. Their reign of violence ends today.”

“These gangs have terrorized our communities for far too long, and under this administration and law enforcement team, they are no longer allowed to operate with impunity in America,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in the same release.

Court records show the current federal case was initially filed under President Donald Trump’s first administration, but the prosecution continued during the administration of President Joe Biden into the current Trump administration.

Jurors share reasoning

Jurors said after court that they took notes and tried to keep track of the details and nicknames of those involved.

Margaret Lormand said some jurors were concerned about whether Perez-Manchame was actually present at some of the crime scenes.

Allyson Long recalled being “on the fence” about his involvement.

“I didn’t want to have to take the chance, if he wasn’t there, to convict him and say that he was there, if he truly wasn’t there,” said Long. “I didn’t want to have to make that decision.”

Lormand paid attention to the defendants’ side of the courtroom and noticed Reyes-Castillo smiling or chuckling during the trial.

It was “the face you make when your friend is telling a story; it’s kind of crazy, but you’re like: ‘ha, ha, yeah, that was crazy, but we did that,’” said Lormand. “He had that expression a lot, especially when there were really heinous details coming out.”

Those expressions were not a major factor in Lormand’s decision to find him guilty, but helped to eliminate doubt.

“It looked almost like he was sort of proud,” the juror said.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com.