Trial begins for accused MS-13 gang member charged with 2017 murder of Lynchburg teen
It's been almost five years since the brutal murder of a Lynchburg teenager made national headlines; and now after delays due to the pandemic, the trial for an accused MS-13 gang member and one of the latest remaining suspects is underway.
Jury trial for suspected MS-13 gang member in Raymond Wood murder case delayed until 2022
BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. โ The jury trial for one of the men charged in a local capital murder case is being delayed another year. Josue Coreas-Ventura, a suspected MS-13 gang member, was arrested back in 2017 in connection to the brutal stabbing death of Raymond Wood. The 24-year-old was scheduled to appear in a Bedford courtroom on April 29th, but his attorneys asked for more time to prepare due to the pandemic. The prosecutor tells 10 News one reason he objected is that they could lose key witnesses. AdCoreas-Ventura is now scheduled to go before a jury in February 2022.
Police charge alleged MS-13 members with trafficking Virginia teen
ALEXANDRIA, Va. Federal prosecutors have charged 11 alleged members and associates of the MS-13 street gang with sex trafficking and other charges after they say a 13-year-old runaway was repeatedly beaten with a baseball bat and forced into prostitution in northern Virginia. A child trafficking task force found the 13-year-old girl nearly two months later at an apartment in Mount Rainier, Maryland. The affidavit states that multiple gang members had sex with her, and that the gang prostituted her on multiple occasions in northern Virginia and Maryland. The Eastern District of Virginia has several high-profile MS-13 cases already underway. Another alleged MS-13 leader, Elmer Martinez is facing a death penalty trial next year on charges of kidnapping and killing two northern Virginia teenagers in 2016.
Barr says US now overly reliant on Chinese goods, services
Attorney General William Barr participates in a law enforcement briefing on the MS-13 gang with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, July 15, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)WASHINGTON The United States has become overly reliant on Chinese goods and services, including face masks, medical gowns and other protective equipment designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Attorney General William Barr said Thursday. Barr's address at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is part of a full-court press by the Trump administration to denounce China. Hollywood, too, has fallen influence to Beijing, Barr said, accusing filmmakers of censoring themselves in line with Chinese propaganda. A world marching to the beat of Communist Chinas drums will not be a hospitable one for institutions that depend on free markets, free trade, or the free exchange of ideas, Barr said.
Alleged MS-13 gang member found guilty of Bedford County capital murder in teenโs death
BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. โ A jury convicted Kevin Soto-Bonilla of multiple charges, including capital murder, on Wednesday. These charges are connected with the 2017 murder of teenager Raymond Wood in Bedford County. In addition to the capital murder charge, Soto-Bonilla was found guilty of abduction and gang participation. Kevin Soto-Bonilla was emotionless as the clerk read off that he is guilty of capital murder, abduction and gang participation. In closing statements to the jury the commonwealth said Raymond Wood had something the MS-13 gang wanted, specifically marijuana.