An alleged MS-13 gang member wanted for a 2011 murder in New Jersey was arrested by the FBI Friday in Virginia.
Walter Yovany Gomez was indicted for the murder of a rival gang member in Plainfield in 2011.
“This individual was hit over the head numerous times with a baseball bat and stabbed repeatedly with a screwdriver,” says FBI Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher. “The crime scene…was described as being so brutal they thought he had actually been shot with a shotgun.”
Gomez fled New Jersey in 2013 and has been on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. He was arrested in Virginia after the FBI received tips from the public.
This is the first Top 10 Most Wanted fugitive apprehended by the FBI Newark division in 40 years.
Gallagher says the credit for taking another dangerous gang member off the street goes to law enforcement and the public.
"Every tip that we get could lead to something important… If they're credible we'll run them to the ground,” Gallagher says.
Tips leading to an arrest could net an award of up to $100,000.
Gomez will be tried in federal court in Newark. He faces mandatory life in prison if convicted.