Trinitarios Member Pleads Guilty in Racketeering Case Connected to 2023 Lynn Double Murder

Boston, Massachusetts — August 7, 2026 — A member of the Manchester Chapter of the Trinitarios has pleaded guilty to a federal racketeering charge and admitted assisting the gang before a 2023 drive-by shooting that killed Jandriel Heredia and Abraham Diaz and wounded five other people.

Kelvin Liranzo Roman, also known as “Whoopty,” 27, pleaded guilty on August 6 to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, commonly known as RICO conspiracy.

His admitted participation in the racketeering conspiracy included acting as an accessory before the fact to the murders of Heredia and Diaz and participating in two attempted murders connected to the September 2, 2023 shooting.

U.S. Senior District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled Liranzo Roman’s sentencing for November 17, 2026. He was arrested and charged in February 2025.

During the plea hearing, Liranzo Roman admitted that he was a member of the Trinitarios and knowingly assisted the organization before the fatal shooting on Essex Street in Lynn.

The victims were gathered outside for a party celebrating a recent high-school graduation and a young man preparing to leave for college. Three Trinitarios members drove past the gathering and fired numerous rounds into the group.

Seven people were shot. Abraham Diaz and Jandriel Heredia later died from their gunshot wounds.

Liranzo Roman admitted that he transported the vehicle used in the shooting to Lynn before the attack. He knew Trinitarios members intended to use the vehicle later that night to target rival gang members they believed would be present at the party.

The vehicle belonged to a deceased Trinitarios member and was used as part of an attempt to send a message to rival gang members.

After the shooting, the driver and two shooters were taken to Lawrence and later brought to Liranzo Roman’s residence.

Federal authorities describe the Trinitarios as a violent criminal enterprise with thousands of members operating across the United States. The organization uses an internal hierarchy, follows a governing document known as the Magna Carta and takes deliberate measures to conceal its membership and activities.

The Trinitarios prosecution expanded after a multijurisdictional inquiry into four murders and a series of attempted murders and shootings in Lynn during 2023.

Federal racketeering charges were unsealed against 22 Trinitarios leaders and members in February 2025. Prosecutors accused members of using violence to maintain the organization’s authority, retaliate against rivals and advance the gang’s interests.

A member of the Lynn Chapter was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in March 2025. Two Trinitarios members were charged in June 2025 with kidnapping a drug supplier, and the leader of the Lynn Chapter was sentenced to 14 years in prison the following month.

Michael Miliano and James Jimenez, both members of the Lynn Chapter, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy in December 2025.

Luis Enrique Santana pleaded guilty in April 2026, followed by Westyn Lantigua in May 2026. Luis Jeffrey Santana, identified as a leader of the Manchester Chapter, pleaded guilty in June 2026.

Liranzo Roman became the 12th defendant to plead guilty in the federal case.

Additional racketeering and drug charges were unsealed on June 9, 2026, against 26 alleged leaders, members and associates of the Trinitarios chapters operating in Lawrence, Haverhill and Boston.

Court documents in that proceeding allege that Trinitarios members participated in five additional murders in Essex County beginning in 2017. Those allegations brought the total number of murders charged across the federal Trinitarios cases to 11.

The charges pending against defendants who have not entered guilty pleas or been convicted remain allegations. Those defendants retain the presumption of innocence unless prosecutors prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The RICO conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of life in federal prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

The maximum penalties do not establish the sentence Liranzo Roman will receive. Judge Gorton will determine the sentence after considering the admitted conduct, applicable statutes, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legally relevant factors.

Liranzo Roman is also subject to deportation after completing any sentence imposed by the court.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley announced the guilty plea with Jeff Grimming, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Ted E. Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division; Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker; Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble; and Lynn Police Chief Christopher P. Reddy.

The Manchester Police Department in New Hampshire provided assistance during the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit is prosecuting it.

The prosecution forms part of the Boston Homeland Security Task Force initiative established under Executive Order 14159, titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.”

The task force brings together personnel from Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and Diplomatic Security Service.

State and local law enforcement agencies also participate in the task force, with federal prosecutions led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

The case is also included under Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative that coordinates federal resources against cartels, transnational criminal organizations and perpetrators of violent offenses.

The initiative incorporates resources from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhoods.

Liranzo Roman’s guilty plea resolves his criminal responsibility in the racketeering conspiracy but does not conclude the broader federal prosecution. Other defendants remain at different stages of the court process, and the government continues pursuing cases connected to the Trinitarios organization and the violence attributed to its chapters.

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