MS-13 Gang Member Gets Life Plus 10 Years

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A member of the MS-13 gang has been sentenced to life plus ten years for the murder of another gang member.

Federal prosecutors in Alexandria say 27-year-old Wilfredo Montoya Baires was convicted in September of murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy and firearms charges in the August 2004 death of 22-year-old Jose Escobar.

He was sentenced yesterday by Judge T-S Ellis III.

Two other men, Wilfredo Lopez-Lopez and Fredy Escobar, were sentenced to ten years for their role in the killing.

Prosecutors say Baires and Lopez-Lopez sought an order from gang leaders for the murder of Escobar because they believed, falsely, that he was an informant.

Prosecutors say Baires and Fredy Escobar confronted Jose Escobar inside a Manassas home, where Baires shot and killed Jose Escobar.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)