A dozen people have been indicted in federal court in Alexandria and accused of involvement in a Northern Virginia clique of MS-13 that authorities say was linked to four killings over four months.

       The 12 defendants were all charged in Virginia state court in 2020, but those cases have not gone to trial. Instead, authorities have accused them of involvement in a multi-state conspiracy under federal law. Eight are accused of murder in aid of racketeering, a crime punishable by death.

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       All are described by authorities as members or associates of the Sitios Locos Salvatruchas, part of the loosely organized, El Salvador-based MS-13 gang. The accused were transporting cocaine from New York to the D.C. area for sale in restaurants and nightclubs, authorities said.

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       MS-13 is an international gang that originated in Los Angeles.

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       At the time of the arrests, authorities said that three of the four killings were probably random, noting that MS-13 members commit acts of violence to advance in rank within the gang.

       Two of the victims were badly beaten and fatally shot in a wooded area of Woodbridge in June 2019, authorities said. Two months later, another man was fatally shot nearby while going to meet an acquaintance. The fourth man was gunned down in Dumfries as he was walking down a street in September 2019.