Alleged Gang Member Guilty in Stabbing Death

A Prince George's County jury has convicted an alleged member of the MS-13 street gang of fatally stabbing a teenager with a screwdriver and of trying to kill another man in Langley Park last year, State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said today.

The Circuit Court jury convicted Eduardo Escobar Martinez, 18, of involuntary manslaughter, attempted second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree assault. The jury acquitted Escobar Martinez of first- and second-degree murder.

Escobar Martinez, of Gaithersburg, was convicted in the stabbing death Sept. 9 of Carlos Humberto Castro Ventura, 18, of Silver Spring. A second victim was wounded but escaped.

"This case is a really heinous example of gang violence," Ivey said, after the verdict was announced in the Upper Marlboro courthouse Thursday night.

According to prosecutors, witnesses reported hearing Escobar Martinez yell "Mara Salvatrucha" moments before the attack. Mara Salvatrucha is another name for MS-13, a street gang comprised primarily of immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. Members of the gang have been responsible for dozens of acts of violence, including at least a dozen homicides, in suburban Maryland, Virginia and the District during the last four years, law enforcement officials have said.

Escobar Martinez, known by his gang nickname, "Lil Travieso," was convicted of an attack that occurred about a half hour after midnight. Police and paramedics arrived at the corner of 15th Avenue and found Castro-Ventura unconscious. He had been stabbed 44 times with a screwdriver.

Castro-Ventura was taken to Washington Hospital Center in the District, where he was pronounced dead. Another victim, Santos Mejicanos, was found stabbed and beaten; he was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated and released.

Mejicanos picked Escobar Martinez from a police lineup, prosecutors said.

In his closing argument, Assistant State's Attorney Gessesse Teferi said Escobar Martinez "savagely attacked" his victims after proclaiming his gang allegiance.

A codefendant, Roberto Nicolas, 18, of Burtonsville, has pleaded guilty to an undisclosed charge. The plea is sealed, officials said. Circuit Court Judge Michelle D. Hotten scheduled Escobar Martinez's sentencing for July 20.

Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for Ivey, said the police gang investigator was instrumental in ensuring that fearful witnesses appeared in court.