Teens Charged in Second Gang-Related Murder: Police

Four Gaithersburg area reputed gang members were charged Wednesday with the murder of a man whose remains were found in a shallow grave, just hours after they were charged in another homicide, officials said.

Montgomery County Police charged the four suspects for the homicide of Marvin Misael Vargas-Osorio, 34, of the 400 block of North Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg. Vargas-Osorio’s remains were found in a shallow grave in the Great Seneca Stream Valley Park on Aug. 29.

The four suspects, Luis F. Avelar Morales, 18, of Girard Street in Gaithersburg, Daniel Adonai Ramos, 19, of Lost Knife Circle in Montgomery Village, Edwin E. Reyes-Martinez, 18, of the unit block of Whetstone Drive in Gaithersburg, and Juan Espinal Rapalo, 18, of Summit Avenue in Gaithersburg, have been charged with first-degree murder.

Avelar Morales and Reyes-Martinez were 17 at the time of the murder; they both have been charged as adults in the case.

At the time the charges were filed, Avelar Morales, Ramos, and Rapalo were being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, awaiting trial for the Nov. 1 homicide of Roberto Gutierrez Cruz.

Avelar Morales, Ramos, and Rapalo have been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Gutierrez Cruz. Reyes-Martinez was charged Tuesday with being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder and possession of a handgun in the murder of Gutierrez Cruz and was also charged with first-degree murder in the death of Vargas-Osorio.

Hunters in Great Seneca Stream Valley Park found Vargas-Osorio’s remains in a shallow grave Aug. 29. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide caused by multiple sharp instrument stab wounds.

Photos of the victim’s clothing and personal effects were released to the public and detectives received information that the victim was Vargas-Osorio; medical records confirmed his identity.

This month, a witness to the homicide contacted police and investigators identified the four suspects based on information provided by the witness.

Investigators believe that the homicide of Vargas-Osorio and the Nov. 1 homicide of Gutierrez Cruz are gang related and that the suspects are associated with the MS-13 gang. These homicide investigations are ongoing and therefore additional information will not be released.

»Photos of Daniel Ramos, left, and Juan Espinal Rapalo, courtesy of Montgomery County Police