Robbers Stalk Hispanic Immigrants, Seeing Ideal Prey

At the entrance to the trailer park, Negrete was shot at least eight times. A weathered shrine marks the spot where his body fell. Fastened to a chain-link fence is a wooden cross covered with white lilies, plastic and permanent.

Georgino Napier, who was 18 at the time, and Carlito McToy, who was 17, were charged as adults with first-degree murder. They have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 28 and 33 years in prison, respectively.

Much in the neighborhood has changed since the slaying. Overhead lighting was installed, police began to patrol the area more aggressively and residents learned to change their habits. Relatives of Negrete have returned to Mexico.

When Negrete was killed, Prince William police had already noticed a spike in robberies of immigrants. The county's crime rate in 2006 was the lowest in five years, but robberies were up 40 percent. Of the 351 reported, 83 percent were street robberies, many of which involved Latino victims.

In Montgomery, 285 robberies reported last year were committed by three or more people, police said. The majority of the victims in the "pack robberies" were recent immigrants, county police said.

In both counties, police said they remain concerned about the robberies but believe recent efforts to curb them have been effective.

After several men were robbed in her Manassas neighborhood last year, Yanette Herrera said the victims spoke of possibly striking back. They figured that if they retaliated, hurting one of the assailants, it might send a message, she said.

"We are very patient, but when we see something not changing . . .," she said in an interview. "You know how bad it is working 12 hours a day and someone just takes it in a minute?"