ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Salvadoran member of the transnational street gang La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, was sentenced today to 25 years in prison in connection with the kidnapping and murder of an adolescent boy in 2016.
According to court documents, Edwin Orellana Caballero, who was 16 years old and living in Alexandria at the time, was one of several members and associates of the Park View Locos Salvatrucha clique of MS-13 who kidnapped and killed a 14-year-old victim, S.A.A.T. On the night of September 26, 2016, the gang lured S.A.A.T. to Holmes Run Stream Valley Park in Fairfax County and murdered him in a wooded area there with knives, machetes, and a pickaxe. Orellana Caballero struck S.A.A.T. multiple times with the pickaxe. Once S.A.A.T. was dead, the gang buried him in a shallow grave.
Orellana Caballero, who was transferred for prosecution as an adult under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, pleaded guilty to one count of maiming in aid of racketeering activity. In so doing, he admitted to participating in S.A.A.T.’s murder for the purpose of maintaining and increasing his position in MS-13.
To date, a total of 17 defendants have been charged in this case. Of those, five defendants went to trial and were convicted of all charges. Ten defendants pleaded guilty prior to trial.
