COLUMBUS, Ohio- A 34-year-old Columbus man named Cruz Alberto-Arbarngas has been convicted and sentenced to at least 30 years in prison for murdering on behalf of the criminal organization, MS-13. Court documents show that Arbarngas is the tenth recent defendant to be convicted and sentenced.
According to federal prosecutors, 22 defendants in total have been convicted, along with eight murders solved. Officials say this is part of law enforcement’s effort to dismantle the Columbus clique of MS-13.
Authorities said the 2017 murder of 15-year-old Genesis Lizbeth Cornejo-Alvarado was one of the cases solved.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, the defendants in these cases were all charged with attempted murder, extortion, money laundering, drug trafficking, assault, obstruction of justice, witness intimidation, weapons offenses, and immigration-related violations.
Alberto-Arbangas, federal investigators say, participated in the murder of Wilson Villeda in 2015 and was linked to the 2008 murder of Ramon Ramos and the 2016 murder of Jose Ovillio Ayala-Alas and Salvador Martinez-Diaz.
Arbangas, said United States Attorney Kenneth L. Parker, was also involved in extorting victims, each of who had to pay hundreds of dollars per month or risk violence to them and their families.
