3 MS-13 gang members convicted in 2022 killing over graffiti in Silver Spring
Three Maryland men who police say are members of the MS-13 gang have been convicted on charges related to a 2022 retribution shooting in Silver Spring that left a teenager dead.
Junior Francisco Del-Cid, 20, of Takoma Park, Elmer Lopez-Cortez, 25, of Silver Spring, and Elvin Guzman-Machado, 20, of Silver Spring, were found guilty on a slew of charges, including participation in a criminal organization resulting in death.
It’s the first time any defendant has been convicted on that charge in Montgomery County.
According to charging documents, the shooting happened shortly before 4 a.m. on Nov. 9, 2022, at the Northwest Park Apartments on Colony Road in Silver Spring.
“That neighborhood has been terrorized by MS-13 for a very long time,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said Tuesday. “They marked that territory, marked that area, with graffiti signifying that it was an MS-13 neighborhood.”
Four people were in the parking lot when Del-Cid and Lopez-Cortez opened fire on the group, killing 19-year-old Willians Anderson Alberto Cruz and striking two others, McCarthy’s office said.
Guzman-Machado and a fourth defendant awaiting trial, 26-year-old Jonathan Leon-Chacon, waited in the getaway vehicle, according to prosecutors.
The shooters, prosecutors said, were convinced the group they opened fire on had defaced the gang-related graffiti near the parking lot where the shooting took place. McCarthy said the group actually had nothing to do with it.
“They were not involved in doing it. All four of the potential victims in this case were employed, working individuals living in the neighborhood and had nothing to do with the defacing, nor were they gang members,” McCarthy said. “These men were sitting around talking, drinking and dancing. That’s how they were spending their evening.”
Witnesses estimated Del-Cid and Lopez-Cortez fired 15 to 20 shots at the four innocent victims, according to McCarthy.
The three convicted men were found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and firearms violations, on top of the historic gang conviction. The jury reached its verdict after six hours of deliberation following a three-week trial.
The men face the possibility of life in prison without parole and four additional, consecutive life sentences plus 105 years. Sentencing is set for Jan. 31, 2025.