Local News

State police: MS-13 gang member arrested during traffic stop in Canton

Wilmer Garcia-Manzanares, 44, was later released into the custody of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to police.

February 26, 2024

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An alleged member of the MS-13 gang who was wanted for murder in El Salvador was arrested in Canton during a traffic stop, according to state police.

Police said around 8:45 p.m. on Feb. 18, a state trooper was conducting traffic enforcement near the ramp from I-93 south to I-95 south in Canton when he saw a black van pass him with no light on its rear license plate. When the trooper stopped the van and asked the driver for his license, the man, later identified as 44-year-old Wilmer Garcia-Manzanares, allegedly told the officer he didn’t have a Massachusetts license.

Instead, Garcia-Manzanares showed a photo of his driver’s license in El Salvador and provided his passport. Police said the trooper determined during the stop that Garcia-Manzanares, who had an address in Lynn, was a fugitive from El Salvador, wanted for homicide and extortion, and a member of the MS-13 gang.

The National Crime Information Center “indicated that Garcia-Manzanares could be armed and dangerous, had committed multiple crimes in New York state in recent years, and had previously been removed from the United States,” police said.

Additional troopers responded to the scene and Garcia-Manzanares was arrested for operating a motor vehicle without a license and later released into the custody of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.