US Magistrate Judge Alicia Rosenberg denied bail on Tuesday to Alex Sanchez, 37, a former gang leader in the MS-13 gang, saying that his criminal history made it likely that he would seek revenge upon the witnesses who testified against him. Sanchez will remain in custody until the start of his trial, currently scheduled for September 1. Sanchez and other MS-13 gang members were arrested and charged with murder, and drug crimes, as well as conspiracy to commit murder.

Federal prosecutors charge that Sanchez orchestrated the assassination of a gangster in El Salvador who had allegedly threatened gang members in Los Angeles. Federal prosecutors presented evidence obtained from wiretaps that they say shows Sanchez is still active in the MS-13 street gang as a leader.

Sanchez received the support of US Senator Tom Hayden who offered to put his home up as bail., and one hundred letters of support from other community members. Sanchez says that he has left the gang life behind and now spends his time focused on anti-gang activities via his organization, Homies Unidos. Hayden was instrumental in helping Sanchez receive political asylum in 2000, after Sanchez had been deported back to El Salvador following a 1994 violation of parole conviction. If convicted on the charges against him, Sanchez now faces life in prison without parole.

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