‘They turned on their own’: MS-13 members ‘stabbed 16-year-old 100 times before setting him on fire and dumping his body at the side of a road after he tried to quit the gang’
- Police found the body of Jacson Pineda-Chicas, 16, of Falls Church, Virginia around 4.30am in a wooded area near River Road in Stafford County, Virginia
- They arrested five alleged MS-13 members later the same day
- Jacson’s mother says her son was forced to join MS-13 when their family lived in El Salvador and that they fled to the U.S. to get away from the notorious gang
- She said Jacson was killed for trying to leave the gang
- Police confirmed the five suspects who were arrested were former friends of Jacson as well as fellow MS-13 members
- Investigators say the suspects turned on Jacson after bringing him to the home of the local MS-13 clique’s alleged leader
- Jacson’s principal at Falls Church High School described him in a letter as an ‘engaging’ young man who was ‘well-liked’ by his classmates
Authorities say Jacson Pineda-Chicas (pictured), 16, was stabbed 100 times on March 8 before his body was set on fire and later dumped in the woods in rural Stafford County, Virginia
MS-13 members stabbed a 16-year-old boy 100 times before setting him on fire and dumping his body on a roadside because he wanted to quit the gang, the victim’s mother has claimed.
Jacson Pineda-Chicas wanted out after being forced to join the notorious gang in El Salvador before he and his family fled to the United States, according to his mother.
As punishment, the teenager, of Falls Church, Virginia, was brutally murdered by five suspects who authorities said Jacson previously described as his friends.
Police arrested the five alleged MS-13 members from Virginia and Maryland on Saturday not long after finding Jacson’s body around 4.30am in a wooded area near River Road in Stafford County, Virginia.
Jose Ordonez-Zometa, 29; Jonathan Castillo-Rivera, 20; Kevin Rodriguez-Flores, 18; Christian Martinez-Ramirez, 16; and Jose Hernandez-Garcia, 25, were all charged with first-degree murder and other related charges, authorities said.
All five males and their alleged victim were members of an MS-13 faction based in Fairfax County, Virginia, according to police.
Alleged MS-13 gang members Jonathan Castillo-Rivera (left), 20, Jose Ordonez-Zometa, 29, and three others suspects were arrested Saturday after Jacson’s body was found
Investigators confirmed the suspects turned on Jacson before killing him during a March 8 meeting in the Prince George County, Maryland home of Ordonez-Zometa, the clique’s alleged leader.
‘He was stabbed around 100 times,’ Prince George’s County Major Brian Reilly said of Jacson during a press conference on Friday. ‘That goes to how violent this attack was and how it wasn’t just one person who did this. The group turned on their own.’
Authorities haven’t confirmed a motive for the alleged murder, but Jacson’s mother, who hasn’t been identified for safety reasons, told NBC 4 in Washington D.C. that her son previously told her he was being bullied and threatened by his peers after saying he didn’t want to be in MS-13 anymore.
She said her son even started living at a different house in Prince George’s County to keep his parents and siblings out of danger.
Jacson (left) was a student at Falls Church High School in Falls Church, Virginia
‘They would follow him to work. He worked at IHOP … everyday he would leave [the house] with fear,’ Jacson’s mother told NBC 4, speaking in Spanish.
‘He had to take knives to defend himself, and screwdrivers. He had razors and he told me, “Mom, I’m going to defend myself with them, but it’s not going to be enough,”‘ she added.
Jacson’s had previously been reported missing and authorities were able to identify him prior to Saturday after releasing a photo of a tattoo on his left arm, according to Fox 61.
The late 16-year-old was a student at Falls Church High School. In a letter to students and parents, the school’s Principal Ben Nowak described Jacson as an ‘engaging’ and ‘well-liked’ young man.
‘[Jacson] will be greatly missed by the Jaguar school community,’ Nowak wrote.