April 17, 2015

Two Convicted of Murder on Federal Land

HOUSTON—Two men have entered guilty pleas, admitting they murdered a teenager in the Sam Houston National Forest, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.

Cristian Alexander Zamora aka Christian Zamora, Alexander, Alex or Pollo and Ricardo Leonel Campos Lara aka La Muerte entered pleas of guilty to aiding and abetting each other and others with the murder of a 16-year-old male victim on Sept. 22, 2013.

Zamora, 22, and Lara, 19, both of El Salvador, admitted they took part in the murder by striking the male victim with a bat and a machete multiple times. Zamora and Lara admitted they had received an order from MS-13 members to kill the teenager. After receiving the order, they assisted in taking him to the forest where they then struck him with a bat and machete to the point of near decapitation.

U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein, accepted the pleas today and has set sentencing for July 10, 2015. They are facing life in federal prison.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the FBI, Houston Police Department, Texas Rangers and the Walker County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark E. Donnelly and Casey MacDonald are prosecuting the case.