A member of the MS-13 gang who was working in The Villages has been indicted for murder.
Jose Ezequiel Gamez-Maravilla is among a group of MS-13 gang members named in a press conference Friday morning by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Gamez-Maravilla was named in a long-running investigation that dates back to 2015 and involves four murders in south Florida.
Bondi, Florida’s former attorney general who has frequently visited The Villages, singled out Gamez-Maravilla in the press conference and said he was arrested in Lake County and had been hanging drywall in The Villages. He went by the name “Chango.” He is now in federal custody.
Two others were named in the recent indictment with Gamez-Maravailla – Hugo Adiel Bermudez-Martinez and Wilber Rosendo Navarro-Escobar. Bermudez-Martinez was found in Minnesota. Navarro-Escobar was apprehended here in Florida.
They are being prosecuted as part of Operation Sombra De La Bestia, or Operation Shadow of the Beast. Six other MS-13 gang members have already been convicted.
The three men recently indicted, including Gamez-Maravilla, could face the death penalty if convicted.
“These vicious and callous acts by MS-13 not only shattered lives but also undermined the safety and security of South Florida communities,” said Hayden P. O’Byrne, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “Through my office’s unwavering partnership with other federal, state, and local law enforcement, we are sending a clear message to those who inflict violence, feed drug addiction, or cause other harm to the people of our district: We will find you; we will prosecute you; and we will apply the full force of American justice.”