Wanted gang leader arrested in NW Ohio

SANDUSKY TWP. — A routine traffic stop in June resulted in the arrest of a wanted gang leader. Just before noon on June 7, a state trooper from the Bucyrus District initiated a traffic stop on the Ohio Turnpike near Ohio 53 in Sandusky Township, according to a press release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The driver of a Toyota Highlander SUV was purportedly following too close to traffic in front of the vehicle. After the trooper made contact with the occupants and explained the reason for the stop, the rear-seat passenger indicated that neither the driver nor front passenger spoke English. The rear passenger translated for the trooper. The driver was identified as Gabriel Lopez, 26. The front passenger was Edenilson Velasquez Larin, 33. The rear passenger was Bianca Garcia, 31. All three had Thornton, Colorado, addresses. Velasquez Larin is a purported leader of the "violent transnational criminal organization La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the 'MS-13,'" according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Velasquez Larin, also known as "Agresor," "Saturno" and "Paco," was named in a 48-count federal indictment. He faces charges of: • Racketeering conspiracy • Firearm possession during a drug trafficking crime • Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana • Murder • Conspiracy to murder • Assault • Money laundering "The murders and other crimes of violence allegedly committed by these defendants were brutal, cold-blooded, and utterly senseless," stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. "This Office and our law enforcement partners are working tirelessly to dismantle the MS-13 at all of its levels, and we will not relent until this transnational criminal organization, its leaders, members and associates are held accountable for the extreme violence and other criminal activity that they have perpetrated in our communities." In body-worn camera footage released by the state patrol, Garcia tells the trooper that the three occupants were on their way from Colorado to Long Island, New York. She told the trooper she is from New York and was in Colorado for work. After obtaining identifying documents from the occupants, the trooper tells the driver he is only going to issue a warning for following too close; and that he is going to run their information to make sure there are no warrants or wants. Agents from the U.S. Border Patrol then arrived to provide assistance. Velasquez Larin and Lopez are then asked to step from the vehicle. The trooper escorts Velasquez Larin to his cruiser and asks him to sit in the rear. The video then ends. Garcia was cited for marijuana possession, the release states. Velasquez Larin and Lopez were detained by Border Patrol agents after determining the men were in the country illegally, according to WTOL. Velasquez Larin was incarcerated at Lucas County Jail before federal agents picked him up on July 3.