A New Jersey gang member wanted in connection with a brutal, premeditated murder has been named to the FBI\u2019s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, and a reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information leading to his capture.<\/p>\n
Walter Yovany Gomez, in his early 20s at the time of the 2011 murder in Plainfield, New Jersey, was attempting to become a full member of MS-13 by carrying out a gang-ordered killing. It didn\u2019t matter that the target was Gomez\u2019s friend\u2014the man had allegedly shown disrespect to the gang.<\/p>\n
Part of the Plainfield Locos Salvatrucha (PLS) crew, Gomez was assigned the hit when his bosses heard that one of their associates had been seen socializing in a bar with a rival 18th Street Gang member. Ordering a murder for such a sign of disrespect is not uncommon for MS-13, a transnational gang known for its extreme violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo become a full-fledged member of MS-13,\u201d said Special Agent Dan Brunner, who is investigating the case from the FBI\u2019s Newark Division, \u201cyou have to kill someone on behalf of your local clique, or crew. Only then can you get the MS-13 letters tattooed on your body,\u201d Brunner explained. \u201cGomez had not earned his letters yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
On May 8, 2011, Gomez\u2014known to his friends as Cholo\u2014invited himself and a co-conspirator to the victim\u2019s house. Another person was there who was not involved in the plot. The four were drinking, smoking weed, and watching TV. \u201cThey were all friends,\u201d Brunner said. \u201cThe victim had no reason to suspect that he was going to be murdered.\u201d<\/p>\n
The victim, Julio Matute, partied with his friends all night. Early the next morning, as he was getting dressed to go to work, Gomez grabbed an aluminum baseball bat and struck Matute in the back of his head several times. When he fell to the floor, Gomez cut his throat with a knife, then grabbed a screwdriver and repeatedly stabbed him in the back.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was stabbed so many times that when his body was discovered a week later,\u201d Brunner said, \u201cpolice officers thought that he had been shot with a shotgun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gomez\u2019s fellow attacker was later arrested, but when police went to Gomez\u2019s residence, he jumped out a rear window and fled into the woods. Later investigation revealed that he drove to Maryland with assistance from fellow MS-13 gang members.<\/p>\n
A Honduran citizen who came to the U.S. illegally, Gomez is not believed to have left the country. He may be residing in Maryland or Northern Virginia, where there are thousands of MS-13 members, Brunner said. Or he may have returned to New Jersey. \u201cHe would probably be considered a higher-ranking member of the gang now,\u201d Brunner added.<\/p>\n