Crime & Safety
MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced For 2022 Murder In Montgomery County
Edvin Moises Agustin Leon was found fatally shot behind a Silver Spring apartment complex in November 2022.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — An MS-13 gang member was sentenced to life in prison this week in connection with the 2022 murder of a man whose body was found in Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park in Montgomery County.
Edgard Castro Contreras was also sentenced to serve an additional 52 years for his role in the death of 20-year-old Edvin Moises Agustin Leon, according to a Fox Baltimore report citing the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office.
Castro Contreras was one of six people charged in the Nov. 9, 2022, death of Agustin Leon.
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According to police, officers responded to a wooded area behind a Silver Spring apartment complex after receiving a report of multiple shots fired.
Agustin Leon was fatally shot, and a second victim was shot multiple times, Fox Baltimore reported. The second person survived by pretending to be dead. He then crawled through a quarter mile of park terrain, crying for help until neighbors called 911.
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While canvassing the crime scene, K-9 officers discovered Agustin Leon's body, which was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Officer
Investigators later determined Agustin Leon's death was a gang-related homicide. Castro Contreras and five other suspects were arrested between December 2022 and May 2023.
Others arrested in connection with the shooting were:
- Sender Emanuel Godoy-Lemus of Silver Spring
- Brayan Bonilla-Andrade of College Park
- Daniel Yaque Del Cid of Greenbelt
- Edwin Armando Sanchez-Montiel of Silver Spring
- Jonathan Edwardo Videz of Montgomery Village
According to charging documents obtained by Bethesda Today, the victims were “accosted by MS-13 gang members,” one of whom was later identified as Castro-Contreras, because of “an accusation related to gang activity.”
In April, Castro Contreras was found guilty of first-degree murder and other charges. Prosecutors previously stated he was the person who killed Agustin Leon.
Others accused in the shootings are pending trial or sentencing, reports said.
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