MS-13 gang members convicted for shooting man who defaced graffiti in Silver Spring

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Three people have been found guilty of murdering a man and wounding two others in Montgomery County two years ago. Police say the co-defendants are MS-13 gang members and face multiple life sentences.  

According to police, on Nov. 9, 2022 just before 4 a.m. Montgomery County Police officers responded to the 100 block of Colony Road in Piney Branch for a shooting. When officers arrived, they found three men who had been shot. Two of the men were taken to the hospital for treatment. A third man, Willians Anderson Alberto Cruz, was found in a wooded area nearby. He had been shot multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene.

Four men were arrested for the shooting about a month later. 

On Tuesday, Junior Francisco Del-Cid, 20, of Takoma Park, Elmer Lopez-Cortez, 25, of Silver Spring, and Elvin Guzman-Machado, 20, of Silver Spring, were convicted on charges of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, four counts of use of a firearm during a crime of violence, and participation in a criminal organization resulting in death.

Each defendant faces the potential of life in prison without parole and four additional, consecutive life sentences, plus 105 years.

The jury reached its verdict late Friday. The jurors deliberated for six hours following a three-week trial.

A fourth co-defendant, Jonathan Leon-Chacon, 26, of Silver Spring, is still pending charges and is set for trial on June 16, 2025.

Prosecutors said the shooting happened as retribution for defacing gang graffiti in the area next to the parking lot where the shooting happened. Del-Cid and Lopez-Cortez opened fire on the victims after the defendants became convinced the group was responsible for defacing the graffiti. Guzman-Machado and Leon-Chacon waited in the get-away car.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan, 31, 2025.