By Gangsters Inc. Editors
Two members and associates of the 18th Street gang operating within Washington, D.C. were sentenced on Thursday, November 17, to over five years each in prison for their roles in an attack on rival gang members on the platform of the Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metro station on September 17, 2019.
21-year-old Christopher Molina-Garcia and 22-year-old Christian Figueroa-Gutierrez, both of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty earlier this year in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of violent crime in aid of racketeering – assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of unlawful possession, brandishing, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. The pleas were contingent upon the Court’s approval.
Molina-Garcia’s plea called for a 5 ½-year prison term, and Figueroa-Gutierrez’s plea called for a range of 60 months to 72 months in prison. The Honorable Randolph D. Moss accepted the pleas and sentenced Molina-Garcia to 5 ½ years in prison, and Figueroa-Gutierrez to 5 years and 4 months in prison. Following their prison terms, each will be placed on three years of supervised release.
Both men were part of the international criminal street gang known as 18th Street, which operates in throughout the United States and internationally. The 18th Street gang engages in a variety of criminal activities to include acts of assault, robbery, kidnapping, murder, and firearms trafficking. It is particularly violent because members are required to commit acts of violence to further the interests of the gang.
Afternoon altercation at the metro
On September 17, 2019, at approximately 3:31 p.m., Molina-Garcia and Figueroa-Guiterrez went to the Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metro Station in Northwest Washington as part of a group of 18th Street gang members. Metro station surveillance captured the men as they engaged in an altercation with another group of rival gang members on the train station platform.
The 18th Street gang members began to run towards the rival gang members and Molina-Garcia was seen pulling a large knife out of his waistband while Figueroa-Gutierrez pulled out a meat cleaver from his backpack. The rival gang members then pulled out a set of weapons of their own. Another 18th Street gang member then pulled a handgun from his backpack and fired two gunshots towards the rival crew. The two gangs immediately dispersed as a Metro train pulled into the station.
The men admitted to participating in the attack in order to gain entrance to, or to maintain or increase their position in the 18th Street gang. Molina-Garcia was arrested on May 11, 2021, in Loudoun County, Virginia. Figueroa-Gutierrez was arrested on May 10, 2021, in Irving, Texas. They have been detained ever since.
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