Female Gang Member Sentenced to More Than 24 Years in Prison

A member of the 18th Street Gang has been sentenced to more than 24 years in prison for her involvement in the kidnap and murder of a boy thought to be a member of a rival gang.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, Silvia Martinez, 23, also known as "Crazy," was among other gang members who participated in the Jan. 18, 2009, kidnapping and murder of 15-year-old Dennys Alfredo Guzman-Saenz.

The Justice Department said two gang members forced Guzman-Saenz into the trunk of a car in Langley, MD, and took him to Gaithersburg, where Martinez and other gang members became involved.

Martinez and other gang members took Guzman-Saenz to a park in Gaithersburg where he was stabbed and beaten by several gang members, including Martinez, causing his death, the government states. Guzman-Saenz’s body was found in a creek in the park the next morning.

The DOJ said about three weeks after the killing, on Feb. 8, 2009, Martinez and other gang members were at a residence in Gaithersburg discussing the killing of rival gang members. Martinez rode in a car with other gang members into Washington, DC, in search of rival gang members, where two were shot and one was killed.

The Gaithersburg Police Department was one of many law enforcement organizations commended for its work in this investigation and prosecution.

The 18th Street Gang originated in the Los Angeles area and operates in Central America and across the United States, including in Maryland, the DOJ reported.

Read the full release on the U.S. Department of Justice website.