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Reston man linked with MS-13 gang indicted on murder charges
By the Associated Press
November 1, 2005
RICHMOND, Va. -- A federal grand jury in Alexandria indicted a 25-year-old Reston man Tuesday for murder for allegedly shooting a fellow gang member.

Wilfredo "Nino" Montoya Baires faces the death penalty for his role in the August 2004 shooting of Jose Escobar, 22, in Manassas.

The indictment says Baires killed Escobar to maintain or increase his position within MS-13--or Mara Salvatrucha.

The one-count indictment says the murder was "green-lighted" by members of the gang. MS-13 is known for violence throughout the United States and Central America and has been connected to machete attacks and other murders in northern Virginia.

Baires will be arraigned on Nov. 8.

In September, law officers arrested more than 650 suspected members of MS-13 and other groups in the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras as part of a coordinated crackdown on violent Hispanic gangs.

In June, two MS-13 members were convicted in Alexandria for the July 2003 murder of a pregnant, teenage gang member who had turned informant. The men will spend life in prison.