Crime

A jury convicted seven MS-13 gang members, including three from Woodbridge, and associates on charges of sex trafficking a minor under the age of 14 and other child sexual exploitation offenses.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, in August 2018, the 13-year-old victim ran away from a youth home in Northern Virginia. Shortly after running away, the victim was introduced to members of MS-13. Gang members told her they would be her family and protect her if she joined the gang, according to a court press release.

On Thursday, June 23 at 2:07 a.m, Prince William County police officers responded to the Exxon service station located at 7113 Sudley Road near Manassas to investigate shoplifting.

The investigation revealed a patron, later identified as the accused, entered the store, and attempted to purchase alcohol. When the employee informed the accused the sale could not be completed, a struggle ensued over the alcohol, police said.

On June 21 at 7:30 p.m., officers responded to a home in the 7700 block of Gateshead Lane near Manassas to investigate a report of a missing adult. The man was eventually located at an area hospital after being taken by rescue personnel earlier in the day.

Shortly before 2 o’clock that afternoon, the accused was determined to be under the influence of medications mixed with alcohol when he fired multiple rounds inside the home, police said.