Virginia
MS-13 gang member found guilty of several murders in Northern Virginia
MS-13 gang member accused of killing at least 5 people in Northern Virginia found guilty
An MS-13 gang member has been found guilty of killing multiple people in Northern Virginia following a two-week trial in federal court. Jurors returned their verdict in less than four hours on Monday, finding Elmer Alas Candray guilty on 14 counts, including the murders of five people in Fairfax County from 2018 to 2022.
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. – An MS-13 gang member has been found guilty of killing multiple people in Northern Virginia following a two-week trial in federal court.
Jurors returned their verdict in less than four hours on Monday, finding Elmer Alas Candray guilty on 14 counts, including the murders of five people in Fairfax County from 2018 to 2022.
Closing arguments began Monday morning in U.S. District Court in Alexandria and jurors were given the case just before 1 p.m., returning with unanimous guilty verdicts around 4 p.m.
Candray, 27, is originally from El Salvador. Several parts of this trial were conducted in Spanish and translated.
Federal court documents describe the gruesome killings which included stabbings, shootings, limbs being cut off and discarded or buried.
Trial underway for alleged MS-13 gang member accused in 6 murders across Fairfax County
The victims range in age from a 19-year-old waitress in Fairfax shot sixteen times in the face after making a social media video disparaging MS-13 to a 42-year-old fellow gang member. Five victims were in Northern Virginia, one was in Massachusetts.
Elmer Alas Candray, 27, of El Salvador. Photo via Rappahannock Regional Jail
FOX 5 covered one of the deaths extensively — 24-year-old Jose Guillen Mejia, a father whose body was found in 2019 in the woods off a walking trail in Reston.
At the time, Fairfax County police did not believe his death was gang-related. But according to prosecutors, Mejia was simply the first person that Candray and his associates saw in the woods, in an area they considered their turf, so they shot him multiple times and killed him.
Sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 30, 2025.
U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia sent FOX 5 the following statement:
“This case is a stark reminder of the violence and disregard for human life inherent in MS-13’s criminal enterprise. Their deadly activities, from flooding our streets with dangerous narcotics to the brutal murders by which they attempt to impose their presence, will not go unchecked. Their crimes will be met with the full attention and resources of this office and our law enforcement partners.”
Virginia Delegate Dan Helmer led fellow Democrats to major gains in November’s election. Now he’s turning his attention to the redistricting of the Commonwealth, and a run in the newly proposed 7th district. He joins Sydney Persing on The Final 5 to discuss.
FAIRFAX, Va. (7News) — Virginia State Police have identified the man who was shot and killed by a trooper after a crash ended in a stabbing attack on Interstate 495 Sunday afternoon.
Jared Llamado, 32, of McLean, died at the hospital on Sunday after he was shot.
RELATED | 2 dead, dog killed after stabbing spree, trooper shooting on I-495 in Fairfax County
Investigators said Llamado was confronted by the trooper who opened fire around 1:17 p.m. The trooper was responding to a report of a road rage incident and found Llamado with a knife, according to a news release.
Four stabbing victims, all women, were also found at the scene, along with a dog that was also stabbed.
Michelle Adams, 39, died from her injuries. The dog also did not survive. The three other women were all taken to the hospital with serious injuries, according to VSP. 7News is not identifying the surviving victims.
Investigators said the stabbings stemmed from a crash in the southbound lanes of I-495.
The trooper who opened fire was not hurt and is on leave pending the outcome of the investigation into the use of force.
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Investigators said they do not believe the attack is connected to terrorism.
Virginia
Two dead after I-495 road rage incident leads to stabbing, Virginia State Police shooting – WTOP News
A road rage incident led to a shooting involving the Virginia State Police on Sunday on Interstate 495. Four individuals were also stabbed.
Two people are dead Sunday in Annandale, Virginia, after a road rage incident led to a shooting involving Virginia State Police on Interstate 495.
A release issued by the Virginia State Police said a trooper fatally shot a man after responding to a report of a road rage incident on the southbound lanes of I-495 just before 1:30 p.m. at exit 52, near the Little River Turnpike.
The man, transferred to a hospital with serious injuries, has been pronounced dead. VSP said the trooper shot in self-defense after the man confronted him with a knife.
The trooper did not suffer any injuries during the altercation.
Officials found four stabbing victims at the scene, but only identified a 39-year-old woman and a dog. Both the woman and the dog died.
Early findings suggest the stabbings took place after a crash on the Capital Beltway. The crash remains under investigation.
The VSP’s release comes after the main lanes of the Capital Beltway Outer Loop, before Little River Turnpike, were closed to traffic for several hours, only recently opening the express lanes. Main lanes between Arlington Boulevard and the Little River Turnpike remain closed.
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