COLUMBUS – A California man has been sentenced life in prison for his role in carrying out three Columbus murders as part of the MS-13 criminal gang.
MS-13 leader who participated in 3 Columbus murders sentenced to serve life in prisonhttps://t.co/r4dEPUgM4P pic.twitter.com/6q2N5rqf3h
— US Attorney Southern District of Ohio (@SDOHnews) May 13, 2020
Jose Bonilla-Mejia, of Santa Maria, Calif., took part in the 2015 murders of Carlos Serrano-Ramos and Wilson Villeda, who were stabbed and beaten to death and buried in shallow graves at Innis Park, said David DeVillers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
Bonilla-Mejia, 31, also played a role in planning the 2016 murder of Salvador Martinez-Diaz at an apartment complex at Melroy Avenue and Kelburn Road, DeVillers said.
He was one of 23 individuals charged in a 2018 indictment charging them with five murders in Columbus and Perry County, in which machetes, knives and hammers were used as weapons, DeVillers said.
The defendants faced numerous other charges, including conspiracy, obstruction of justice and witness intimidation, while being members or associates of MS-13 in Columbus.
Bonilla-Mejia was arrested in Akron In March 2016, and pleaded guilty in August 2019 to participating in a racketeering conspiracy and two counts of murder in aid of racketeering.
He was sentenced in federal court Wednesday.