Authorities are investigating a link between a brutal stabbing in Richmond last month and the national street gang MS-13.
Law enforcement authorities have arrested five suspects in the Jan. 14 abduction and stabbing of a 21-year-old man in South Richmond. Police said Tuesday that multiple suspects stabbed the victim as many as seven times, but he survived.
One of the suspects, Jose A. "Pantro" Bran, 28, of the 3400 block of Meadowdale Boulevard in Chesterfield County, is charged with gang participation. Court documents identify him as a participant in MS-13, a violent gang that originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s by immigrants fleeing El Salvador's civil war.
The documents also say that Bran conspired to kill the stabbing victim for the benefit of MS-13, at the direction of the gang, or in association with MS-13.
A source familiar with the investigation said that authorities believe the violent attack is connected to recent activity in the Richmond area by an MS-13 clique known as Sailors Loco Salvatrucha Western, or SLSW. The group has ties to the Northern Virginia and Washington areas. Locally, authorities are aware of perhaps 10 members but are concerned to see they are committing crimes as a group, the source said.
Authorities urge residents to report any activity associated with the gang.
Richmond police Lt. Emmett Williams confirmed that the department's gang unit is involved in the stabbing case, but he would not comment on the suspected gang connection.
Court records indicate that a grand jury on Monday will consider whether to indict all five suspects on several charges, including multiple gang-participation counts.
Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring did not wish to discuss the gang aspect. "I don't think it's wise to comment on cases involving significant gangs and gang activity until there's a conviction, because discussing the activity is almost tantamount to promoting or advertising for the gang's presence," he said.
Williams said the victim in the Jan. 14 case was abducted in the area of Jefferson Davis Highway and Terminal Avenue and stabbed inside a vehicle in the abdomen, back and shoulder areas.
The victim was dumped in the 3800 block of Terminal Avenue and left for dead, Williams said, but he managed to knock on the door of a home, prompting someone to call 911. Police found the bleeding man on the front porch. Critically wounded, he was treated at VCU Medical Center and has since been released, authorities said.
Williams said the motive for the stabbing involved retaliation and a dispute involving a woman.
In addition to Bran, police identified the other suspects as Marvin E. Coreas-DeLeon, 23, of the 3500 block of Old Creek Road in Chesterfield; Justin M. Amador, 22, of the 8600 block of Windingrun Lane, also in Chesterfield; Mario A. Molina, 23, of the 1700 block of Tifton Court in South Richmond; and Giovanny A. Torres, 22, of the 2900 block of Jefferson Davis Highway, also in South Richmond.
Court records show that Coreas-DeLeon, Molina and Torres each were charged with conspiracy to commit malicious wounding and unlawful stabbing. Torres also is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and malicious wounding.
Amador, according to court records, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and malicious wounding. Bran is charged only with the gang-participation charge.
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