Pam Bondi announces arrests of suspected MS-13 members in South Florida cold case murder
Three suspected MS-13 gang members have been indicted in a deadly South Florida cold case that goes back a decade, authorities announced Friday.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, joined by Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony, announced Friday morning the arrests and prosecutions in the gang-related murder that occurred in May 2015.
"They've all been arrested for first-degree murder. We will be reviewing them to see if we will seek the death penalty," Bondi said.
Suspects arrested in Florida and Minnesota
Bondi said the indictment of the MS-13 gang members sends a powerful warning.
"These indictments are a warning to all criminals. We don't care how long ago you committed the crime, we don't care where you go, we will find you, we will arrest you and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law," Bondi said.
Bondi said one of those indicted, Jose Ezequiel Gamez-Maravilla, was located in Lake County, Florida. He was hanging drywall in The Villages when he was arrested.
Another suspect, Hugo Adiel Bermudez-Martinez, was taken into custody in Minnesota, according to the attorney general.
The third man arrested, Wilber Rosendo Navarro-Escobar, was arrested in North Lauderdale.
Bondi said all three were in the country illegally.
Brutal 2015 Palm Beach murder sparked investigation
The investigation started in 2015 after the body of a 22-year-old man was found in a vacant lot in Palm Beach.
"The victim in this case was brutally, brutally murdered, stabbed approximately 100 times by multiple gang members before he was shot in the head. He suffered tremendously," Bondi said.
"One of the defendants sought him out, convinced him to come with him in his car, took him to a crime scene where they are all charged with violently stabbing him. (It) was almost like a game to get a higher level in their gang initiation," she said.
A joint effort by BSO, the FBI and U.S. Border Patrol
The attorney general said the arrests were possible thanks to the efforts of BSO's Cold Case Homicide Unit and Gang Investigations Task Force, the FBI and U.S. Border Patrol.
"The heartless and brutal actions of these ruthless and violent criminals demonstrate a complete disregard for human life," Sheriff Tony said. "BSO's Cold Case Homicide investigators, who worked closely with our federal partners, proved once again that justice has no expiration date. We owe it to the families of the victims and to this community to make sure the people who committed these heinous crimes are held accountable."
If convicted, all three face a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison and a maximum sentence of death.
Second suspected MS-13 gang members arrest in South Florida
This was the second arrest of suspected MS-13 gang members in connection to South Florida murders. In the 2022 case, six men were convicted of murder in aid of racketeering activity.
"Nine MS-13 terrorists have been taken off our streets and four cold murder cases have been solved thanks to the great investigative work of the FBI and our law enforcement partners," Bondi said.
The U.S. Department of Justice has stated that "MS-13 is a violent transnational gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador that operates throughout parts of the United States. MS-13 is a recognized terrorist organization."
