Honk News (Richmond, VA) – A Virginia gang leader has been sentenced to life in prison for multiple murders, including the brutal killing of a 19-year-old woman who was shot 16 times in the face after making negative comments about the gang online.
On Thursday, Elmer De Jesus Alas Candray, 27, received a sentence of six concurrent life terms in prison along with additional years after being found guilty of his involvement in a gang’s criminal activities, which included six murders and further conspiracy to commit murder, as stated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in a press release.
The defense attorney Andrew Stewart stated that Alas Candray was raised in El Salvador, where gang violence was prevalent.
According to reports, the violent series of events began in 2018. A gang associate met a grim fate following a dinner, where he was brutally beaten and strangled with a belt. His body was dismembered with knives in a bathtub, and the remains were subsequently placed in trash bags and buried in the woods of New Bedford, Massachusetts. One co-defendant remained and sanitized the bathroom using bleach. According to court documents, individuals involved in the murder received promotions within the gang hierarchy.
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The remains of the man are still missing.
In May 2019, a person was shot and attacked with a machete while walking on a trail that the gang asserted as their territory, according to court documents.
In September 2020, Iris Janet Ponce Garcia was tragically drawn into the woods, leading to her untimely demise. According to prosecutors, she had criticized the gang on social media.
Megan Braun, an Assistant U.S. Attorney, informed the court, “Iris was shot 16 times, mainly in the face, rendering her unrecognizable,” as reported by Salvador Rizzo of the Post.
In March 2021, a 40-year-old individual was attacked in the entrance of his residence. In June 2022, a 27-year-old man was shot, and court documents revealed that the gang had struck him on the head with at least one large rock.
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In 2022, Alas Candray and several accomplices brutally attacked a 42-year-old gang member, using knives and a baseball bat, due to his exaggerated claims about his status within the gang. His remains were discovered in the woods by authorities over a year later.
“They cut off his head. They cut off his hands. They cut off his arms. They cut off his legs,” Braun said.