Page 6 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MARCH 04, 2022 MS-13 leader sentenced to 15 years in prison for RICO Conspiracy D javier Duggins, 32, of Lynn, the leader of a local MS-13 clique, was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to racketeering (RICO) conspiracy. MS-13 is organized into branches operating in local territories. Duggins was a “homeboy” (full member) of the MS13 gang and the leader of the Sykos Locos Salvatrucha (Sykos) clique of MS-13 for nearly 10 years. Achieving promotion to “homeboy” in MS-13 generally requires the commission of a signifi cant act of violence, often including murder. As part of his leadership role, Duggins personally recruited, mentored and encouraged younger clique members to commit violence on behalf of MS-13. The evidence in this case showed that Duggins had been a leader of MS-13 since approximately 2006 and was part of the core group of MS-13 members who helped build up the Sykos clique of MS-13 in Lynn. In 2012, Duggins and another member of the Sykos clique participated in an attempted murder during which Duggins stabbed a victim multiple times on a public street. For that crime, Duggins was prosecuted in state court for armed assault with intent to murder and other charges and was sentenced to 54 months in state prison. An investigation revealed that after Duggins was released from state prison in 2016 he went back to associating with MS-13 and helped codefendant Erick Lopez Flores recruit and mentor the next generation of the gang. For example, upon learning of a 2016 murder committed by codefendant Henri Salvador Gutierrez in East Boston, Duggins recruited Gutierrez to the Sykos clique and off ered to promote him to a higher rank based on his prior violence. Duggins remained a leader of the Sykos clique in the years following his release from state prison in 2016. During his leadership, members of the Sykos clique continued to engage in racketeering activity and violence on behalf of MS-13. On July 30, 2018, six members of the Sykos clique participated in a horrifi c murder in Lynn where they lured a teenage victim to a playground pretending to be friendly with the unsuspecting victim. At the scene, the gang members surrounded the victim and repeatedly stabbed him to death. An autopsy revealed that the victim suff ered at least 32 sharp force trauma wounds consistent with being stabbed repeatedly, along with blunt force injuries to the head. Although Duggins did not participate in the 2018 murder committed by other members of his clique, the Court noted his leadership role and his longstanding involvement in the gang as reasons to impose the 15-year sentence on Duggins. Following an investigation in November 2018, Duggins was indicted along with fi ve MS-13 members who participated in the July 2018 murder in Lynn. In a related case, the government charged a juvenile coconspirator who was the sixth person involved in the Lynn murder. All six defendants indicted in this case, along with the juvenile charged in the related case, have pleaded guilty. Duggins is the fourth defendant to be sentenced. On Feb. 16, Henri Salvador Gutierrez was sentenced to life in prison. On Feb. 14, Erick Lopez Flores was sentenced to 40 years in prison. On Feb. 15, Jonathan Tercero Yanes was sentenced to 33 years in prison. Sentencing hearings for the two remaining codefendants, Eliseo Vaquerano Canas and Marlos Reyes have not yet been scheduled. Go wild on your taxes this year T ax season is here, meaning it’s a great time to help A 6-piece classic rock band featuring music from the 60’s to the 80’s. YOU CAN JOIN THE FUN TOO, SO Bring your guitar, bass, mic, harp or just your dancing shoes. Come and enjoy the music, dancing and singing. We hope to see you there. Saturday, March 5th at 7pm 150 Bennington St. Tel: (617) 418-5476 keep Massachusetts wild. One easy way to help endangered animals and plants in the state is by donating on your state tax return. Simply fi ll in the amount you would like to donate on Line 33A for Endangered Wildlife Conservation. Your meaningful donation will go to the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Fund, a fund dedicated specifi cally to the conservation of rare species. This Fund supports the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP) of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife). NHESP is responsible for the hundreds of species that are listed as endangered, threatened or of special concern in Massachusetts. The fastest birds on earth, peregrine falcons, were classifi ed as endangered in Massachusetts until very recently. Their historical nesting sites – known as eyries – were located on 14 rocky cliff areas of the state. As of 1955, all 14 sites had become completely inactive. Thanks in part to a nationwide ban on the pesticide DDT, as well as decadeslong restoration eff orts, the fi rst nest returned to the Commonwealth in 1987. Since then, more than 800 wild peregrine falcon chicks have fledged in Massachusetts, and they have returned to fi ve of their historical eyries: Mount Tom, Mount Sugarloaf, Farley Cliff s, Monument Mountain and Pettibone Falls. Peregrine falcons now also nest on the cliff s of quarries in Holyoke, West Roxbury, Saugus, Peabody and Swampscott. Most often, they now also nest on tall, manmade structures, such as buildings and bridges. Buildings that have consistent peregrine falcon nests can be found in Boston, Chelsea, Cambridge, Watertown, Lawrence, Lowell, Worcester, Amherst and New Bedford. They also nest on bridges in Charlestown, Fall River, West Springfi eld and Northampton. MassWildlife has been banding and monitoring peregrine falcons for decades, tracking their health and progress as part of a broad observer network. While Massachusetts has made considerable progress, 432 plants and animals are still recognized as rare in the state. NHESP is the fi rst line of defense for Massachusetts’s most vulnerable plants and animals. Donating to the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Fund ensures continuing conservation for these rare species. Already fi led your taxes, but still want to donate? There are a few other ways you can donate: • Online with a credit card or electronic check • Through your MassFishHunt account • By check made payable to “Comm. of MA—NHESP” and mailed to: MassWildlife, 1 Rabbit Hill Rd., Westborough, MA 01581. RevereTV Spotlight T he latest public service announcement recorded in partnership with the City of Revere was a message with information regarding Wednesday’s Inclusionary Zoning Meeting with Mayor Brian Arrigo. This was a virtual event with a Zoom link posted to the City of Revere website for residents to join and participate. The meeting was also streamed live by RevereTV to watch on RTV Gov, Facebook and YouTube. If you missed the chance to participate or want to watch it again, it will be replaying on RTV Gov over the next few weeks. Last night was the State of the City Address. This took place at the new SpringHill Suites Marriot on Revere Beach. RevereTV covered this event live on RTV Gov. Government events air live from RTV to Comcast channel 9 or 1072, RCN channels 13 and REVERETV | SEE Page 11
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