A man was sentenced to 50 years in prison for his involvement in a 2019 gang-related murder in Dickerson.
Jordan Ryan Moreno, 23, of Washington, D.C. was sentenced Friday in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County for the death of 19-year-old Sara Gutierrez-Villatoro of D.C., according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in June. Moreno also has federal charges pending. He is one of four co-defendants.
On Nov. 29, 2019, Montgomery County Police were called to a remote wooded area near Old Hundred Road and Peach Tree Road for a suspicious situation after Villatoro’s body was found on the ground. Her death was determined to be caused by gunshot wounds and was ruled a homicide.
According to the County State’s Attorney’s Office, all four defendants were members of the 18th Street gang and planned to kill Villatoro because she was associating with MS-13, a rival gang. The four drove from D.C. to Dickerson with Villatoro in the car and “passed around a .38 caliber revolver.” Villatoro was shot twice once they got to the wooded area and her body was left in the woods.
“When prosecuting gang violence, we are looking to go after the leadership and some of the defendants in this case are believed to be higher level members of the ‘18th Street’ gang. We thank Judge Cho for appropriately sentencing this young man and holding him accountable for the death of 19-year-old Sara Gutierrez-Villatoro,” County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in a statement.
