Edgard Castro-Contreras
GAITHERSBURG, Md. - MS-13 gang member Edgard Castro-Contreras was sentenced on Monday to life in prison plus an additional 52 years for the killing of 20-year-old Edvin Agustin Leon in a gang-related shooting in Gaithersburg, Maryland in 2022.
What we know:
On November 9, 2022, Leon and a second victim were taken into a wooded area of Northwest Stream Valley Park in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Leon was shot and killed.
The second victim was shot multiple times but played dead. He crawled through the park and called for help, a neighbor calling 911.
Investigators say two higher-ranked members of MS-13 gave guns to three lower-ranked members, telling them to shoot and kill the two victims.
In April, a jury convicted Castro-Contreras in the murder of Leon and attempted murder of the second victim.
What's next:
Other alleged gang members, Brayan Bonilla-Andrade and Sender Emanuel Godoy-Lemus, also faced charges.
Bonilla-Andrade pleaded guilty and faces the potential of two life sentences plus 20 years. His sentencing hearing is pending.
The jury hung in Godoy-Lemus' case, and the retrial is scheduled for next May.
Two additional co-defendants, Jonathan Videz Martinez and Carlo Yaque Del Cid, will face trial in February on first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and related charges.
The Source: This story includes information from the Montgomery County State's Attorney Office.