A Massachusetts man who is part of a violent gang ripped off a woman’s nails and threw her against the wall, according to court documents.
On Wednesday, Derek Mercado, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a machine gun. He was charged in August and has been in state custody for domestic violence offenses.
Mercado and the woman got in a verbal argument on May 6 and Mercado went to go get his gun, according to court documents. The woman took the gun’s magazine and refused to give it back “because she didn’t know what he was going to do with it.“
He then pinned “her against the wall with one hand on each shoulder. He continued to yell at her threatening to beat her up, demanding the magazine,” court documents state.
Still, she refused.
Mercado then picked the woman up and threw her against the wall, which severely damaged the wall, court documents state. He also grabbed the woman’s hands and “ripped off one nail from each hands causing her fingers to bleed.”
Police were called and began looking for Mercado, who had multiple arrest warrants.
When police found Mercado, they said he had a green bag with an Israel Military Industries (IMI) model Uzi machine gun and a removable box-style magazine inside.
“The Uzi was test fired utilizing the submitted magazine and determined to be capable of shooting multiple rounds with a single function of the trigger,” officials wrote. “Therefore, the Uzi firearm is a machine gun under federal law.”
Mercado is part of the Trinitarios gang, which officials say are “a violent criminal enterprise responsible for numerous murders and acts of violence across Massachusetts.”
The gang known as the Trinitarios started at Rikers Island in New York in the 1990s, by people who were facing murder charges.
The gang is tied to a pair of 2017 killings in Lawrence and two double shootings in Lynn in late 2023. But in the last 18 months, they have been responsible for what prosecutors described as “a dramatic increase in gang violence … as a direct result of the Trinitario incursion into the state.”
In February, prosecutors claimed they dealt a “significant blow” to the gang’s operations following the indictment of 24 men and boys. However, the gang has continued to cause problems in the months since.
Mercado is expected to be sentenced on Feb. 18, 2026.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
