Three Men Charged in July 2009 Robbery and Fatal Shooting in Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA,VA—A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Tuesday charging three men with ties to MS-13 with murdering Claros Luna, 40, of Maryland, during a robbery on Manor Road in Alexandria, Va., on July 29, 2009.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Joseph Persichini Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office; and Earl Cook, Alexandria City Chief of Police, made the announcement.

The indictment charges the three men—Eris Arguera, 21, of Alexandria, Va.; Alcides Umaña, 21, of Arlington, VA; and Adolfo Portillo, 28, of Alexandria, Va.—with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and extortion, interference with commerce by robbery and extortion, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence causing death. The maximum penalty is life in prison or death.

According to the indictment, Luna was robbed and murdered after transporting a woman from Maryland to Virginia for prostitution. The indictment states the three men were members of a conspiracy—which included members of the gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13—to extort money from individuals involved in prostitution. The three men are scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 4, 2009, in the United States District Court in Alexandria, Va.

This case was investigated by the Alexandria Police Department and FBI’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from the Fairfax County and Arlington County Police Departments and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s Office of Investigations in Washington, D.C. Assistant United States Attorneys Ronald Walutes and Morris Parker are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pacer.login.uscourts.gov.