6 gang members indicted on murder charges
21-year-old Wheaton man fatally stabbed in July in Glenwood Knolls community
Six alleged gang members were indicted on murder charges in Montgomery County District Court on Thursday in the stabbing death of a 21-year-old Wheaton man, a county state’s attorney’s spokeswoman said.
The following Montgomery County residents were each charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, riot and participation in a gang activity resulting in death:
Christian Salmeron, 20, and Jose A. Hernandez, 16, both of the 4300 block of Ferrara Drive in Wheaton; Deshaun Budd-Bey, 18, of the 12800 block of Bluhill Road in Wheaton; Jose Vasquez, 21, of the 4400 block of Sigsbee Road in Aspen Hill; Kevin Miranda, 17, of the 10800 block of Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring; and Anthony Racedo, 18, of the 12700 block of Bushey Drive in Wheaton.
The six, believed to be members of the Chicago-based Latin Kings gang, were indicted in the July 7 murder of 21-year-old Edwin Umana of Wheaton, said spokeswoman Emily White.
A trial date for the six is set for Nov. 23 in Montgomery County Circuit Court, but several defense attorneys representing some of the defendants say they don’t believe the case will be taken that far.
County police say Umana was chased by the males, assaulted and killed after calling out to several women sitting on the porch of a home in the 13100 block of Matey Road in the Greenwood Knolls community of Glenmont.
Rockville-based defense attorney Charles Lipscomb, speaking for his client Racedo, said he thinks the first-degree murder charges against his client will be dropped because of a lack of evidence.
“It’s clear that my client didn’t stab this guy,” Lipscomb said.
Vasquez admitted to police he stabbed Umana in the temple while six others kicked him as he lay on the ground, according to charging documents filed in District Court.
Umana died the next day in the hospital, police said.
Rockville-based defense attorney Jennifer Page, who is representing Budd-Bey, said she also believes murder charges will be dropped against her client and that each defendant will be prosecuted according to his connection to the assault.
“The different young men had very different involvement,” she said.
On Aug. 13, prosecutors dropped related first-degree murder charges against another teen, Hirbin Bladimir Guerrero, 16, of the 11300 block of Schuylkill Road in Rockville.
Original witness accounts placed Guerrero close to Umana’s body, but prosecutors later found evidence proving he didn’t leave the porch during the murder, said his attorney, Wheaton-based Andrew Jezic.
“It’s just really sad that he spent 45 days in jail,” Jezic said.
Alex Foster, a Rockville-based attorney representing Salmeron, said he’s hesitant to comment until he receives more information from the state.
Hernandez’s attorney, Rockville-based Esteban Gergley, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Public records did not list an attorney for Miranda, and a public defender will be assigned to Vasquez.