Two suspected MS-13 members have been arrested and charged with the killing of a man whose body was found last month in a Silver Spring park, police announced Wednesday.
Cristopher Alfredo Funes Guerra, a 20-year-old from Silver Spring, was found dead in a stream near Long Branch-Arliss Neighborhood Park on Sept. 6. His family had reported him missing Sept. 3.
The medical examiner’s office determined the cause of Guerra’s death was multiple stab wounds, police said Wednesday.
State's Attorney John McCarthy previously said Guerra had been killed by a gang but did not specify which gang was involved.
In a press release Wednesday night, Montgomery County police stated detectives believe the murder was committed by members of the MS-13 gang.
Jesus Ponce Flores, 18, of Takoma Park, and David Lagunes-Bolanos, 17, of Silver Spring, were arrested Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, according to police. Police claimed both are members of MS-13 but did not specify if others were involved in the killing.
Lagunes-Bolanos has been charged as an adult.
Guerra left his home at about 8 p.m. Sept. 2 and told his mother he was meeting a friend, according to police. At 10 p.m., Guerra’s mom tried unsuccessfully to contact him on his phone.
Guerra didn’t return home and wasn’t heard from again, police said.
Police later learned the “friend” the victim was planning to meet was Lagunes-Bolanos.
Suspected MS-13 members from Montgomery County are facing murder charges in Frederick and Anne Arundel counties for bodies recently discovered there.
Another body was found in Wheaton Regional Park in early September in what McCarthy said was also a gang-related killing. Officials have not identified which gang was believed to be involved. Police have not identified the man or announced any arrests in connection to his death.
