WASHINGTON — A man wanted for a Gaithersburg, Maryland gang murder is now also facing a murder charge in Virginia.
Jose Coreas-Ventura has been wanted by Montgomery County police since last summer for his role in the killing of an 18-year-old man in Malcolm King Park this past June.
He was caught Tuesday in the Lynchburg area and is facing a second-degree murder charge there.
A 17-year-old Lynchburg boy, Raymond Woods, went missing Monday night when he told his parents he was going to meet up with a friend, according to WSET-TV in Lynchburg.
After about 15 minutes of waiting for him to return, the parents contacted police.
Two hours later, a body was found on a Bedford County road by a passing driver.
The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office says it got a call about the body at around 9:30 that night.
As deputies were responding to the call, they saw a speeding car that the motorist had seen. They stopped that car and learned that its driver, 19-year-old Victor Rodas, was an illegal immigrant.
He was arrested.
Tuesday morning, the sheriff’s office learned that Woods had been reported missing to Lynchburg police. A medical examiner determined that the body was of Woods and it appeared that he did not leave his Lynchburg home voluntarily.
At around 8:10 a.m. Tuesday, the sheriff’s office says it got a call from a man who said two Hispanic men walked up to him to ask him to make a call for them. After that call, a small car showed up and picked up those two men.
A short time later, two more men who had been hiding came out and got into the same car when it came back. That car left the area and went toward Lynchburg.
Deputies stopped the car and determined that two of the three people in the car were illegal immigrants. One of those men were Coreas-Ventura, who they also realized was wanted in Montgomery County for a murder charge there.
All three men were taken into custody.
Friday, second-degree murder charges were brought against Coreas-Ventura, Rodas and 24-year-old Lisandro Vasquez, of Maryland.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement also said Friday that it has placed a detainer on Coreas-Ventura. A detainer allows ICE to take custody of a suspect after they are released from local jurisdictions.
Coreas-Ventura is also wanted by Montgomery County police on a first-degree murder charge.
In that case, one of the five suspects had lured the 18-year-old victim to the park for sex. He was then stabbed 40 times.
Montgomery County police said some of the suspects had ties to MS-13 and that the victim did not.
It was not stated whether the Bedford County victim had any known ties to the gang.
However, Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown and Lynchburg Police Chief Raul Diaz said in a statement that this recent murder has a connection to narcotics-related activity and there is no current concern for the safety of residents in that area.
The investigation involved resources from Prince George’s County police, Montgomery County police, Virginia State Police, the FBI, the ATF, the U.S. Marshal’s Office as well as the Lynchburg Police Department, Bedford Police Department and the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office.
