Crime & Safety
3 Arrested in Murder Police Say Tied to Gangs
The teenagers from Gaithersburg and Montgomery Village are members of the MS-13 gang according to Montgomery County Police.
Three reputed MS-13 gang members are in custody on murder charges for the shooting death of a Montgomery Village man.
Montgomery County Police arrested three suspects for the Nov. 2 homicide of Roberto Gutierrez Cruz. Investigators believe the homicide is gang related; they haven’t said what the motive might have been for the fatal shooting.
The suspects are Luis F. Avelar Morales, 17, of Girard Street in Gaithersburg; Daniel Adonai Ramos, 19, of Lost Knife Circle in Montgomery Village; and Juan Espinal Rapalo, 18, of Summit Avenue in Gaithersburg. All three have been charged with first-degree murder and the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony or crime of violence.
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Avelar Morales has been charged as an adult.
Police were called Monday to the wooded area behind the 18200 block of Contour Road, where they found Cruz, 22, of Montgomery Village, dead on the ground.
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The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled that Cruz’s death was a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
Police say the three suspects and the victim were in the wooded area behind Contour Lane on Nov. 1. The facts and circumstances surrounding what occurred before Cruz was shot are still under investigation, but at some point that night, he was shot.
Rapalo was arrested on Wednesday and Avelar Morales was arrested on Thursday. During police questioning, both suspects said they were present during the homicide. Rapalo and Avelar Morales are being held without bond.
Rapalo continues to be held without bond after a bond review hearing. Avelar Morales has a bond review hearing scheduled for Monday.
Ramos was arrested Saturday and is being questioned by police.
Detectives say they have found the gun used in the homicide.
Anyone with information about this homicide is asked to call the Major Crimes Division at 240.773.5070 or call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
»Photos of Daniel Adonai Ramos, left, and Juan Espinal Rapalo, courtesy of Montgomery County Police
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