11 MS-13 Gang Members Charged in the Brutal Slaying of 2 Virginian Teens
Eleven MS-13 gang members have been charged with the 2016 kidnapping and murder of two teenage boys whose bodies were found in a Fairfax County, Virginia, park last year.
The boys went missing within weeks of the other between August and September of 2016.
According to an indictment unsealed Friday, prosecutors said the gang members first lured Edvin Escobar Mendez, 17, to his death because they suspected he was working with a rival gang.
They then killed 14-year-old Sergio Arita Trimino who they believed was cooperating with authorities, the federal indictment states.
“Sergio’s mother, Karla Triminio, told News4 that one night in September he walked to a dumpster outside their apartment to throw out the trash,” WRC reported.
“He never came back,” his mother said.
Edvin and Sergio’s bodies were found buried in the park in March 2017, after they had gone missing in late 2016.
All eleven suspects in the kidnapping and murder case are from El Salvador, according to court documents.
Ten of the men are illegal immigrants, and one has a green card.
One of the suspects is believed to have fled the country, but the rest are in custody.
The names of those charged are are Elmer Zelaya Martinez, 27, Erick Palacios Ruiz, 20, Ronald Herrera Contreras, 20, Josue Vigil Mejia, 21, Henry Zelaya Martinez, 24, Oscar Contreras Aguilar, 20, Yonathan Melgar Martinez, 21, Pablo Miguel Barrera Velasco, 20, Anderson Villatoro, 21, Francisco Avila Avalos, 20 and Fredys Baires Abarca, 20.
“All 11 defendants face conspiracy to kidnap charges. One member, Oscar Contreras Aguilar, 20, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering,” the Washington Examiner reported.
Each suspect faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted.
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