MS-13 member in Virginia pleads guilty to murder for hacking man to death with machete
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MS-13 gang member Jose Luis Escobar-Umana, 23, pleaded guilty Thursday to murder and other crimes, reports said. (Albemarle County Sheriff's Office)
A Virginia MS-13 member charged with hacking to death a man who was killed for speaking ill of the notorious gang last year has pleaded guilty, according to reports.
Jose Luis Escobar-Umana, 23, pleaded guilty Thursday in Albemarle County Circuit Court to four crimes in the July 3, 2017, killing of Marvin Joel Rivera Guevera -- first degree murder, abduction, lynching and being a member of a criminal street gang, the Charlottesville Daily Progress reported.
Three other MS-13 gang members have pleaded guilty in the slaying, the paper reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Walter Antonio Argueta Amaya, 21, reportedly an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, pleaded guilty to the same four counts as Escobar-Umana.
Juan Carolos Argueta, 19, and Juan Carolos Zelaya, 19, have pleaded guilty to gang participation and lynching, according to the paper.
Guevera was attacked with a machete near a creek in Albemarle County, suffering more than 140 laceration wounds to his head, neck, body and limbs, the paper reported. The blows left him unrecognizable. He was identified through DNA.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Prosecutors say they believe Guevera was killed for speaking ill of the MS-13 gang, the Daily Progress reported. Escobar-Umana and the other three are the only defendants in the case.
The victim worked at a pizza shop where Argueta also worked.
Prosecutors said the sentencings have been scheduled for dates in November and December.