LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche has directed federal prosecutors in Los Angeles to seek the death penalty against three members of a transnational street gang charged with murdering a former gang member who was cooperating with law enforcement on a racketeering and methamphetamine trafficking case, officials announced Thursday.
In a letter to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli on Wednesday, Blanche told prosecutors in the Central District of California they are “authorized and directed” to seek the death penalty against Dennis Anaya Urias, 27, Grevil Zelaya Santiago, 26, and Roberto Carlos Aguilar, 31. All are from South Los Angeles.
Blanche said the U.S. Attorney’s Office may not enter into a plea agreement with the three defendants that requires withdrawal of the notice of intention to seek death without the prior approval of the attorney general.
“Thugs and terrorists will find no shelter under this administration,” Essayli posted Thursday on social media. “If you take someone’s life, then you will forfeit your own.”
Urias, Santiago and Aguilar are each charged with one count of murder in aid of racketeering and two counts of conspiracy to retaliate against a witness or informant. The murder count carries a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison and a possible death sentence.
Trial is set for July 21 in L.A. federal court.
According to prosecutors, Urias and Santiago shot the victim to death at a grocery store in South Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2025. The victim’s status as a government cooperator was well known by the gang’s members and made the victim subject to a “green light” order that made him a target for murder.
Approximately one hour before his death, the victim had what appeared to be a chance encounter with Aguilar inside the grocery store. Following the encounter, Aguilar set in motion a series of events that led to Urias and Santiago shooting and killing the victim, federal prosecutors contend.
Court papers show that after the chance meeting, the victim made two telephone calls to authorities and said he was at a grocery store in South Los Angeles where gang members had just tried to kill him. He said he had been talking with gang members when a man whose face was covered approached and tried to shoot him, but the gun did not fire. At one point during the second telephone call, several gunshots were heard.
By murdering the victim, Aguilar, Urias and Santiago either avoided discipline or enhanced their status within the gang, according to court documents.
Essayli posted that Aguilar is an illegal alien from El Salvador; Urias is a legal permanent resident from El Salvador; and Santiago is an illegal alien from Honduras.
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