Jaime Ayala, 18, pleaded guilty to gang participation as a member of the 18th Street Gang and assault and battery by a mob

Jaime Ayala, 18, pleaded guilty to gang participation as a member of the 18th Street Gang and assault and battery by a mob for the Feb. 28 fight. That night several people jumped out of a white van and assaulted another group at a party at the community center. That white van was later seen by a witness near where the Bennetts were attacked and is what led investigators to link the crimes.Wearing the orange and white jump suit of the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center, Ayala pleaded guilty to the two charges. There is no agreement from the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office on sentencing, but prosecutors did agree to reduce the charge of malicious wounding to assault and battery by mob.He will face final sentencing on those charges at 9 a.m., Friday, April 23.Ayala had also been expected to plead to a series of charges stemming from a home-invasion robbery on March 27 of last year. In that case he faces two counts of robbery with a gun, two counts of using a firearm while committing a felony and two counts of abduction. That case will come back before the court Monday, Feb. 15, for scheduling.The other suspect charged in that case is scheduled to stand trial later that week.
Ayala, who was 17 at the time of all three incidents, has been charged as an adult in all three cases. He was facing first degree murder charges for the death of William Bennett, but the charge was not pursued by the commonwealth after questions were raised about whether his age had been established adequately during preliminary hearings in juvenile court.Prosecutors said while they were confident with their case, they did not want to risk any chance for appeal if Ayala was convicted. Murder charges are expected to be refilled in that case.

18th Street Gang linked to three handguns found in a car

Alex Estudyo-Herrera, 30, and Carlos Alberto Reyes, 23, both described as suspected gang members, face weapons charges after they were linked to three handguns found in a car and in Reyes' home, police said. The arrests come as police have stepped up pressure on residents to report weapons and drug dealing after a string of shootings in recent weeks.Police approached the men at 6:30 p.m. Saturday outside a home on Commercial Avenue and Redmond Street after learning they might be at that location, police Sgt. David Martella said. They allegedly tried to flee and got into a Ford Explorer, but were cornered by police.Inside the car, police found a defaced .32-caliber revolver that Estudyo-Herrera is suspected of dropping to the floor of the passenger's side, Martella said. Police also found a chrome .380-caliber handgun in Reyes' front pocket, he said.Both were arrested at the scene with the loaded semiautomatic weapons. A later search of Reyes' home at 823 Nassau St. in North Brunswick netted a third gun — a .22-caliber revolver — and a bag of hollow-point bullets, Martella said.The men are believed to be members of the 18th Street Gang, he said.Reyes was charged with two counts each of possession of a handgun and possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose, along with possession of hollow point bullets. Information about his bail was not immediately available.Estudyo-Herrera, charged with possession of a handgun and possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose, was being held Monday at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick in lieu of $48,000 bail.The effort, bolstered by information developed over more than a week, was carried out by investigators from the department's Street Crimes Unit and uniformed patrol officers, Martella said

Members of the Mexican Mafia,demanded that those responsible members of the 18th Street gang be killed

Members of the Mexican Mafia,demanded that those responsible be killed, according to an indictment unsealed this week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The edict, known as a "green light," was aimed at members of the 18th Street gang, who were thought to have killed the baby during a botched attack on a street vendor who'd refused to pay "rent" to conduct business in the gang's territory near MacArthur Park.Hoping to avoid the Mexican Mafia's wrath, the 18th Streeters decided to take care of the problem themselves, according to authorities. In the days after the baby’s slaying, two gang members lured the shooter to Mexico under the false pretense that he was being hidden from police investigating the murder, the indictment states. Once there, they attempted to strangle him and left "him for dead on the side of a road," according to prosecutors.

18th Street gang members have been charged in the stabbing death of 15-year-old Dennys Guzman-Saenz

Twenty-two-year-old Francis Artiga-Cardoza, of Manassas, was arrested in Worcester, Mass., early Tuesday morning. Hours later, police arrested 17-year-old Ana Villatoro in the District. The pair, along with seven other suspected 18th Street members, are charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and armed robbery.Two more suspected 18th Street gang members have been charged in the stabbing death of 15-year-old Dennys Guzman-Saenz in a Gaithersburg park, Montgomery County police said.Police say the 18th Street gang members abducted Guzman-Saenz from a Hyattsville bus stop Jan. 18., believing he was a member of arch rival gang MS-13.Guzman-Saenz was found Jan. 19 in Malcolm King Park, stabbed about 40 times. An anonymous tip led police to his accused killers.