In the late hours of a Saturday night in May of 2007, a violent struggle inside a car in Hyattsville, Maryland, ended the life of 32-year-old Jose F. Carcamo. His body was discovered shortly after midnight on Sunday, May 6, 2007, in the Hyattsville area, near the intersection of Rhode Island and Baltimore avenues. An initial police report noted that Carcamo, who had no permanent address, had been shot.
The investigation into Carcamo's death would eventually uncover a story of gang
violence and a calculated cover-up. On the evening of May 5, 2007, Carcamo was at a residence in Hyattsville with several members and associates of the 18th Street gang. He later got into a car with gang members Mario Molina-Valladares, also known as "Tiger," Omar Rafael Villegas-Martinez, whose street name was "Lunar," and others.
Inside the vehicle, a struggle broke out between Carcamo and the gang members. During the confrontation, Carcamo managed to disable the car by kicking the gear shifter. The fight continued, and tragically, Carcamo was shot twice in the head. After the shooting, the gang members fled the scene, leaving Carcamo's body in the disabled vehicle on a nearby overpass.
In an attempt to thwart the investigation, the gang members concocted a story to mislead law enforcement. They planned to portray Carcamo's death as the result of a carjacking. Following the murder, some of the individuals involved returned to the scene and provided false information to the police, claiming that people other than gang members were responsible for the killing. This deception was part of the gang's efforts to protect those who had carried out the murder.
Years later, a significant breakthrough in the case came as part of a larger federal racketeering investigation into the criminal activities of the 18th Street gang. A superseding indictment filed in October 2010 charged several gang members with various crimes, including the murder of Jose Carcamo. The indictment specifically named Mario Molina-Valladares and Omar Rafael Villegas-Martinez in connection with Carcamo's death.
Subsequent legal proceedings brought justice for Jose Carcamo. In April 2011, Mario Molina-Valladares was sentenced to 293 months in prison for his role in the racketeering conspiracy, which included his involvement in the murder. Omar Rafael Villegas-Martinez also pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to 23 years in prison in November 2011. The investigation was aided by DNA evidence, as DNA consistent with that of Molina-Valladares was found on the fingernail clippings taken from Carcamo during his autopsy.
