Somerville MS-13 Leader Pleads Guilty to 2010 Chelsea Murder

Jose Vasquez, also known as "Little Crazy" and "Cholo," a leader of the Somerville MS-13 "Trece Locos Salvatrucha" clique, has pleaded guilty to committing a 2010 murder in Chelsea, Massachusetts. The victim, believed to be a rival gang member, was stabbed about 10 times and found under a Route 1 on-ramp; evidence including Vasquez's palm print on a knife found at the scene linked him to the crime. Vasquez, already serving a 17-year federal sentence for racketeering conspiracy involving violent acts against rival gang members, faces additional decades in prison pending sentencing scheduled for June 30. Prosecutors described the murder as part of MS-13's violent activities required to maintain gang status, with Vasquez and others conspiring to kill the victim and carrying out the attack with multiple weapons. An undercover recording from weeks after the murder further implicated Vasquez and other MS-13 members in the crime. MS-13 is a transnational criminal organization operating widely in the U.S. and Central America, known for violent enforcement of its internal rules and rivalries.