Falls Church Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Murder, Extortion

Wednesday, Jose Anibal Vigil pled guilty to his role in the May 2008 attempted murder of two rival gang members. Vigil, 21, of Falls Church, is allegedly a leader of the Gangsters Locos Salvatrucha clique of MS-13, according to a United States Attorney’s Office release.

Vigil faces up to a maximum of 20-years at his May 6 sentencing.

Vigil also pled guilty to extorting pimps trafficking prostitutes from Maryland into Virginia, according to the release.

“Violent gangs spread fear throughout the community,” U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride said in a statement Wednesday. “We are determined to work together – as federal, state, and local law enforcement – to put MS-13 out of business in Northern Virginia.”

According to the release, members of the GLS clique attacked two rival gang members with a pickaxe, machete and a chain outside a youth center in Culmore on May 27, 2008. According to the release, the two gang members survived the attack but they were seriously injured.

Vigil also admitted that MS-13 members collected protection money from at least two prostitution organizations in 2010, according to the release. MS-13 allowed the prostitution rings to continue operating in Culmore in exchange for money, according to the release. A leader of one of the prostitution rings said he thought the gang would kill him if he didn’t pay, according to the release.

According to the release, some of the money collected from the prostitution rings was sent to MS-13 gang operations in El Salvador.