Horseneck Road homicide suspect pleads guilty to racketeering in 2020 killing, two other murders

On Wednesday, April 15, an alleged La Mara Salvatrucha member pleaded guilty to racketeering for his alleged role in three murders, including a killing that occurred near Horseneck Road in July 2020.

Franklin Antonio Amaya Paredes, 28 is a Salvadoran national who had been living in New Bedford at the time of the murders, which occurred in August 2018, June 2019 and July 2020.

Paredes allegedly participated in beating, shooting and dismembering the three victims. He pleaded guilty to racketeering involving murder, conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise involving murder and two counts of muder in aid of racketeering.

“What Franklin Antonio Amaya Paredes did to his victims was particularly heinous — so much so that years later, the circumstances of these three murders still stand out,” said Ted Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston division. “The sheer brutality, cruel depravity and terror he inflicted on behalf of MS-13 demonstrates a complete disregard for human life.”

La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, is a violent, transnational criminal organization that’s involved in murder, assault, extortion, kidnapping, obstruction of justice and drug trafficking, according to court documents. Members often maintain and enhance their status by participating in violent acts.

According to court documents, Paredes is a member of the Uniones Locos Salvatrucha clique, which operates in northern Virginia, southeastern Massachusetts and elsewhere in the United States.

On July 14, 2020 Paredes allegedly shot and killed a 27-year-old near Horseneck Road. It is alleged that he lured the victim to a family party. According to the Department of Justice, text messages show that Paredes and the victim were cousins and that he was murdered after the party.

Paredes confided he murdered his cousin because he failed to “check in” with MS-13 leadership when he arrived in the New Bedford area from El Salvador and had done a “poor job” growing MS-13 in Southeastern, Mass., according to the Department of Justice.

Paredes also allegedly conspired to kill a witness to the murder when he was in state custody.

In June 2019, Paredes and other ULS members allegedly conspired to murder people who frequently gathered to drink in a wooded area in Reston, Virginia. There they armed themselves and murdered a man by shooting him and slashing him with a machete, according to the Department of Justice. Paredes had allegedly been remaining in a nearby car ready to assist.

On Aug. 25, 2018, Paredes and other ULS members allegedly met in New Bedford to murder an associate of MS-13’s Directos Locos Salvatrucha clique. After eating dinner with the victim, Paredes and other ULS members allegedly beat and strangled the victim, then dismembered the victims’ body and buried their remains, the Department of Justice said.

Paredes’ sentencing has been scheduled for July 10.