A man who authorities say is a known MS-13 gang member was arrested and charged in connection with an August double homicide that occurred in Sterling, Virginia.
Marlyn Medrano-Ortiz, 18, was arrested Wednesday evening in Alexandria after officers there recognized him from a bulletin that Loudoun County deputies shared with other law enforcement agencies, Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman said during a news conference Friday.
“When you commit a crime like this in Loudoun County, we’re not going to stop. We’re going to do whatever it takes to get these people behind bars, and we just want to make sure we’re doing everything in our power to keep our citizens safe,” Chapman said.
Medrano-Ortiz, who Chapman said was in the country illegally, is charged with one count of second-degree murder and one count of use of a firearm in commission of a felony.
The charges stem from the Aug. 28 killing of two 22-year-olds: Mijal Conejero-Romera, of Sterling, and Diego Alexander Woollett, of Arlington. Deputies found the two, who were friends, shot alongside a wooden fence at an office park on Ridgetop Circle.
Investigators said the shooting happened following an argument inside a nearby apartment complex in the 21000 block of Huntington Square.
Currently, Medrano-Ortiz faces one count of murder, but additional charges may be coming, and authorities said they are still looking into the possibility that others were involved in the friends’ killings.
Medrano-Ortiz will appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 1 p.m.
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