Police arrested a fifth suspect in the homicide of an 18-year-old man in a Maryland park last June.
Jose Coreas Ventura, 20 and also known as Josue Corea, was arrested Tuesday in Bedford County in southwest Virginia. He has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Cristian Antonio Villagran-Morales.
Coreas Ventura is currently being held at Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority, but will be extradited to Montgomery County.
Four suspects previously were arrested in connection with the death of Villagran-Morales, who was stabbed more than 40 times in Malcolm King Park in Gaithersburg. Josue Fermin Caudra-Quintanilla, 18; Juan Gutierrez-Vasquez, 16; Vanesa Alvarado, 19; and Oscar Ernesto Delgado-Perez, 27, have all been charged with first-degree murder.
Detectives consider the murder to be gang related, police said. Alvarado and Gutierrez-Vasquez told detectives upon their arrest they believed Villagran-Morales was a member of a rival gang.
Detectives believe the victim recently met Alvarado and communicated with him by phone, police said. On the night of June 16, the victim planned to meet Alvarado at the park for sex. After he was lured into the woods by Alvarado, Villagran-Morales was stabbed by the other gang member suspects. In a phone call from jail, Alvarado told her boyfriend it was a hit, according to court records.
Police said the homicide investigation is ongoing.
