MS-13 members gets 40 years in prison in slaying of teen

BOSTON – A member of MS-13 who earned full membership into the violent gang by killing a 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts say 23-year-old Joel “Animal” Martinez, a native of El Salvador who lived in Boston, was sentenced Tuesday.

He pleaded guilty in December to a racketeering conspiracy, which included the September 2015 slaying of 15-year-old Irvin Javier de Paz Castro.

Prosecutors say Martinez acknowledged being associated with MS-13 and bragged about the stabbing in a secretly recorded conversation, saying: “He stared at me and he asked me if I was going to, if I was going to stab him. I told him, ‘Yes, the Mara rules you.’”

His lawyer argued for less prison time, saying Martinez was forced to join MS-13.