A babyfaced Los Angeles gangster has been sentenced to 35 years in federal jail for his function in a horrifying killing within the SoCal mountains.
Cops arrested MS-13 member Kevin Arteaga in a dramatic LA takedown in 2019 that noticed 22 alleged gangbangers with the supergang’s notorious Fulton clique charged in reference to first-degree homicide and racketeering.
Arteaga, 27, has been in federal custody since his arrest. He pled responsible to 1 rely of racketeering in July 2025 and admitted in his plea settlement to his function in a deadly stabbing in Angeles Nationwide Forest, prosecutors mentioned.
He was sentenced Tuesday for his crimes.
Arteaga, who was also referred to as “Streetboy” and “Lucifer,” was collared in a serious takedown of MS-13.
The decades-old gang is among the three largest in LA. Fed by immigrants from Central America, MS-13 offers in narcotics, human trafficking and extortion.
President Donald Trump has recognized MS-13 as a goal for federal immigration crackdowns.
The Fulton clique subset of MS-13, of which Arteaga is a member, was recognized to be significantly violent.
In asserting the 2019 MS-13 bust the place Arteaga was collared, former U.S. Lawyer Nick Hanna mentioned younger Fulton wannabes corresponding to Arteaga dedicated horrific killings simply to realize admission to the vicious crew.
“We’re seeing an inflow of youthful gang members coming into the realm associating themselves with the Fulton clique who’re extraordinarily violent, who should commit murders to hitch the clique,” mentioned Hanna on the time.
The unlawful immigrant from El Salvador joined MS-13’s San Fernando Valley-based Fulton clique when he was simply 16, court docket papers present.
He was solely 19 when he participated within the April 7, 2018 deadly stabbing of a person in Angeles Nationwide Forest, in line with court docket papers.
Arteaga threw the sufferer’s useless physique over a hill, in line with federal authorities, and later burned the garments he was sporting through the homicide.
The federal takedown the place Arteaga was arrested targeted on the Fulton clique, which is fed by an inflow of younger immigrants from Central America, prosecutors mentioned.
Underneath the affect of elder gangsters, youthful wannabes who needed to grow to be members of the clique have been “required to kill an MS-13 rival or somebody perceived to be opposed to MS-13 to be initiated into MS-13,” in line with the federal indictment unveiled within the takedown.
At the very least 4 individuals have been killed in Angeles Nationwide Forest by Fulton clique members who wielded machetes, baseball bats and knives, in line with federal prosecutors.
Most of these arrested within the takedown participated in murders, prosecutors mentioned.
MS-13 has roughly 15 cliques working in Los Angeles, together with the Fulton, Francis, Directos Locos, and Los Angeles Locos cliques, in line with prosecutors.
The Fulton clique’s strongholds embrace Whitsett Sports activities Subject in North Hollywood, California, and the wash space positioned on the entrance to the Los Angeles riverbed at Fulton Avenue and Vanowen Avenue, additionally in North Hollywood, in line with prosecutors.
Prosecutors mentioned MS-13’s Fulton clique has a number of ranges of membership together with paro, observacion, chequeo, homeboy, and corredor.
Violence was obligatory for many who needed to hitch.
“Earlier than turning into a homeboy, a member was anticipated to commit a minimum of one murder,” court docket papers mentioned.
“After collaborating in a murder, different clique members would ‘bounce in’ the potential homeboy by administering a beating for 13 seconds.”
