Third MS-13 Gang Member Arrested in Teen's Murder at Park: Police

GAITHERSBURG, MD — A third person with ties to the El Salvadoran gang MS-13 operating in Montgomery County has been arrested on a murder charge in the stabbing death of an 18-year-old man whose body was found in a Gaithersburg park, officials said, while a fourth suspect remains on the run.

Oscar Ernesto Delgado-Perez, 27, of an unknown address, was arrested Wednesday morning by Montgomery County Police officers in the death of Cristian Antonio Villagran Morales, 18, of Gaithersburg. In July, police arrested two gang members and charged them with stabbing the victim to death. At that time, police were still seeking Delgado-Perez and Jose Coreas Ventura, also known as Josue Corea, 20, of an unknown address, who should be considered armed and dangerous, police said.

Two suspects who were arrested and charged on July 1 with first-degree murder in the homicide are:

• Juan Gutierrez-Vasquez, 16, of Queen Victoria Court in Gaithersburg, who was charged as an adult
• Vanesa Alvarado, 19, of Lakeworth Drive in Gaithersburg

The victim was stabbed more than 40 times after Alvarado allegedly lured him to the park by promising to have sex with him, police said.

Investigators determined that Delgado-Perez was at the Red Roof Inn at 16001 Shady Grove Road Wednesday morning and officers arrested him there.

Detectives believe all four suspects are associated with the criminal gang MS-13, and Alvarado and Gutierrez-Vasquez, upon their arrest, told police they believed Villagran Morales was a member of a rival gang.

At the July press conference, Capt. Darren Francke, director of the Major Crimes Division of the Montgomery County Police Department, said once Villagran Morales arrived at the park, gang members asked him to go into the woods with them to smoke marijuana, where he was killed. Officers were called to Malcolm King Park, 1200 West Side Drive, on June 17 for the report of a death; first responders found the victim's body.

Ventura last known to be in the Wheaton area, Francke said. He believes the suspect knows police are looking for him.

“This is very serious to us. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, we take murder seriously, it will not be accepted in Montgomery County,” Francke said.

The victim was from New Jersey and was working as a landscaper in the area while he lived with some cousins. He was not a member of the local gang, Francke said.

His senseless death came about after “he got involved with the wrong young lady,” Francke said. The gang decided to “assassinate” Villagran Morales. Police wouldn’t elaborate on why he was targeted.

“This young man was a hard-working young man, came down here for a job, really did nothing wrong, just made some poor decisions about the people that he was associating with,” Francke said.

Montgomery County Police earlier this summer discussed the problems of young illegal immigrants who are forced into gangs once they arrive in the area without families. Francke said family members have to monitor what young people are doing and who they spend time with, which is difficult in an age when social media makes hanging out easy.

The county has had 10 gang-related murders in the past year, although just over half had ties to MS-13, said Capt. Paul Liquorie, director of the department’s special investigations division.

He attributes the homicide increase to changes in geopolitical factors in Central America, which has generated an influx in unaccompanied minors making their way to the United States to earn money to send home. Those youths are not gang members, he said, but are more likely to be victims of gang violence.

The increased violence by gangs comes from questions of respect or retaliation for a perceived slight to a gang, police said.

Liquorie said there’s no way to keep an accurate count on the number of gang members in the county. The department has added two new gang investigators to tackle the problem.

Police said they didn’t know the suspects’ immigration status. They may have other identities and could flee to Florida or elsewhere to avoid arrest, police said.

Liquorie said the gang activities here — from the extortion of local business owners to gun sales or drug trafficking — all funnels money back to gang leaders in Central America.

Investigators ask that anyone with information on the whereabouts of Ventura, also known as Josue Corea, to call the Montgomery County Police Department at 301-279-8000. To be eligible for a $10,000 reward, tipsters must call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). Callers to Crime Solvers will remain anonymous.

»Photo of murder suspects Oscar Ernesto Delgado-Perez, and Jose Coreas Ventura, also known as Josue Corea, courtesy of Montgomery County Police