Local MS-13 leader gets life without parole
A Columbus man who admitted involvement in five gang-related killings was sentenced Wednesday to life in federal prison without the possibility of parole.
The outcome for Martin Neftali Aguilarrivera, 34, of North Linden, was expected after he pleaded guilty this year to felony counts of conspiracy to commit racketeering and murder in the aid of racketeering as part of the MS-13 gang in Columbus.
He avoided a potential death sentence under an agreement with prosecutors, and the resulting life sentence was the only remaining option for U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr.
Aguilar-rivera was one of more than 20 members of the violent international gang arrested and charged with myriad crimes as part of a crackdown on the group’s central Ohio operations following a years-long investigation involving the U.S. attorney’s office, the FBI, immigration officials, local law enforcement and others.
Most of the men charged have already pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
Aguilar-rivera, also known as “Momia,” “Pelon” and other names, admitted in court documents that he was the leader of MS-13’S activities in Columbus, including “multiple acts of murder, extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering, obstruction of justice and/or witness tampering.” Among other crimes, Aguilarrivera was involved in the murders of Jose Mendez in December 2006, Ramon Ramos in November 2008, Carlos Serrano-ramos in mid-2015, Wilson Villeda in November 2015 and Salvador Martinez-diaz in December 2016, according to court documents.
“The defendant caused an enormous amount of harm,” Sargus said before imposing sentence.
Prosecutors have said Aguilar-rivera’s arrest and subsequent admissions marked a significant moment in their investigation and helped dismantle MS-13’S operations in central Ohio.
Aguilar-rivera stood before Sargus and listened to the proceedings Wednesday with an interpreter relaying comments to him in Spanish. He declined to make a statement, and no representatives of his victims spoke during the hearing in federal court in Columbus.