MS-13 Gang Member Gets 30 Years For Role In Killing 16-Year-Old

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MARYLAND — A Virginia gang member was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison as part of a plea agreement in connection with his role in the killing of a 16-year-old boy who was stabbed and cut more than 100 times before his body was set on fire.

Judge Paula Xinis of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on Monday sentenced Kevin Alexis Rodriguez-Flores, 20, of Annandale to the prison term, followed by five years of supervised release. Federal prosecutors in Maryland had sought a 35-year prison for Rodriguez-Flores.

Rodriguez-Flores admitted he was a member of the Mara Salvatrucha street gang, or MS-13, and took part in the March 2019 killing over the mistaken belief that the boy, a fellow member, was working with police, prosecutors said in a July 2 court filing. The boy was beaten and stabbed or cut roughly 144 times by Rodriguez-Flores and others whom he believed to be his friends, according to the filing.

MS-13 is a gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13 operate throughout Maryland, Virginia and the United States.

On March 8, 2019, Rodriguez-Flores and other Los Ghettos Criminales Salvatrucha clique members met at a Hyattsville, Maryland, residence of the LGCS clique leader to question the boy's possible cooperation with law enforcement. During the interrogation, the clique leader and gang members threatened and assaulted the 16-year-old as the gang suspected he was cooperating with police.

Gang members, including the clique leader, used knives to repeatedly cut and stab the boy. After the boy was taken into the basement of the residence, the clique leader ordered him to be killed. Gang members, including Rodriguez-Flores, stabbed the victim with knives until the victim was dead.

Following the boy's murder, the clique leader ordered three MS-13 members to dispose of the victim’s body in Virginia. According to the plea agreement, clique members took his body to a secluded location in Stafford County, Virginia, and set it on fire.

After the MS-13 members returned from disposing of the body, co-conspirators cleaned the car, particularly the trunk area, in an attempt to remove evidence of the murder. Rodriguez-Flores remained at the residence of the clique leader until the following day, March 9, 2019, when he and other MS-13 members traveled back to Virginia.

Rodriguez-Flores was one of four men who were indicted in the case. He was the only defendant to plead guilty.

The investigation included officials from the FBI, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Fairfax County Police Department and the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office.