MS-13 Gangster Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2014 Murder at Holmes Run Park

FALLS CHURCH, VA -- Douglas Duran Cerritos, 20, of Falls Church, was sentenced to life in prison Friday for his role in an MS-13 gang murder in Northern Virginia in 2014, according to the Office of United States Attorney Dana J. Boente, Eastern District of Virginia.

On March 29, 2014, Cerritos and six other gang members murdered Gerson Adoni Martinez Aguilar, a gang recruit, for breaking gang rules, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The gang members lured the victim to Holmes Run Park and brutally killed him by stabbing him repeatedly in the back and the neck, ultimately severing his head, the U.S. Attorney's Office reported. When they were done, they buried him in a shallow grave in the park. Cerritos was their leader, and he both planned and directed the murder.

A total of 13 defendants were charged in the case for a series of three murders and one attempted murder that took place in Northern Virginia between October 2013 and June 2014. Of those, six defendants pleaded guilty prior to trial. Six went to trial and were convicted of all charges on May 9.

Cerritos went to trial separately and was convicted on Sept. 22. Each defendant convicted at trial was sentenced to a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Holmes Run Park (Google maps):