Accused MS-13 Leader to Get Separate Trial in Teen Deaths

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Elmer Zelaya Martinez, an MS-13 gang leader who is accused in the 2016 fatal stabbings of two teenagers

Published January 10, 2020 • Updated on January 10, 2020 at 4:59 pm

ALEXANDRIA, VA – MAR2: Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler, holds a news conference about the discovery of two sets of human remains which were found in Lincolnia’s Holmes Run Park late Thursday night. The bodies were found approximately 300 yards into the park near the intersection of Crater Place and Yellowstone Drive. Roessler declined to name the gang believed to be linked to the slayings, but the MS-13 gang, which has roots in Los Angeles and Central America, has been responsible for a spike in gang activity over the past few years. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images) — Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

A federal judge has ordered that an accused gang leader facing a possible death sentence will receive a separate trial from his co-defendants.

Twenty-nine-year-old Elmer Zelaya Martinez is accused of leading his accomplices in the MS-13 street gang in the 2016 stabbing deaths of two teenagers.

Earlier this week, the Justice Department decided to pursue the death penalty against Zelaya Martinez but not against the other 10 co-defendants.

At a hearing Friday, Judge Rossie Alston ruled it would be unfairly prejudicial to Zelaya Martinez to put him on trial alongside 10 others who weren't facing a possible death sentence.

Accused MS-13 Leader to Get Separate Trial in Teen Deaths

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Elmer Zelaya Martinez, an MS-13 gang leader who is accused in the 2016 fatal stabbings of two teenagers

Published January 10, 2020 • Updated on January 10, 2020 at 4:59 pm

Follow Us