MS-13 member gets 35 years for helping to slaughter teenager on an East Boston beach

A federal judge today sentenced Carlos "Chuchito" Melara, 21 and a Salvadoran national, to 35 years in prison for fatally and repeatedly stabbing a 15-year-old on Constitution Beach in East Boston in 2015 - along with three other gang members - the US Attorney's office reports.

Melara had pleaded guilty in April to his role in the murder of Wilson Martinez on Sept. 7, 2015.

According to the US Attorney's office, Melara and the others got Martinez to agree to go to the beach by pretending to be a girl on Facebook:

On the day of the murder, Melara picked up the victim on a scooter pretending to be a friend of the girl that the victim was planning to meet for a date. Melara drove the victim to Constitution Beach, where the other MS-13 members were waiting to kill him. Melara and the three other MS-13 members took turns attacking and stabbing the victim. While Melara was stabbing the boy, the knife Melara was using snapped and broke in the victim’s chest. Melara and the others left the victim bleeding to death with approximately 33 sharp force injuries and numerous blunt force injuries where the assailants had punched, kicked, and struck the victim with rocks. Following the murder, Melara, Gonzalez, and the juvenile were promoted to “homeboy,” or full members of MS-13, as a reward for their participation in the murder.

Melara was one of 61 alleged MS-13 members arrested in raids in 2016. Most have since either pleaded or been found guilty.