In the fall of 2023, 17-year-old Carlos Ivan Oseguera-Funez, a Hispanic male, sent a message to a friend that would foreshadow his tragic end. He was on his way to meet a girl he had been communicating with on Instagram and, with a sense of unease, told his friend that if anything should happen to him, he was heading to the Frankford neighborhood. This premonition became a grim reality when the Patterson High School senior was later discovered face down on a wooded path in that same
neighborhood, having suffered multiple gunshot wounds. His body was found on December 1, 2023, at approximately 9:09 a.m. in the 4900 block of Crenshaw Avenue, and he was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The investigation into the death of the enthusiastic student, who was an active leader in the Hermanos Mios program and Soccer Without Borders, soon uncovered a sinister plot. Authorities revealed that members of the MS-13 gang had allegedly orchestrated his murder. They believed Oseguera-Funez had connections to a rival gang and consequently devised a plan to lure him to his death. The 'girl' he had been speaking with on Instagram was a fabrication, a fake account created to ensnare him. He was directed to a series of locations, ultimately leading him to the spot where his life would be taken.
A significant breakthrough in the case came with a new federal indictment that charged four alleged members of the MS-13 clique known as Centrales Locos Salvatrucha with racketeering conspiracy. The individuals charged were Eliseo Alexander Lopez Alvarez, 23, Josue Anibal Guerra Ramos, 20, Olvin Josue Posas Alvarenga, 23, and Kevin Cuestas, 20. The indictment linked these individuals not only to the murder of Oseguera-Funez but also to two other killings in Baltimore. Investigators had intercepted a call involving Posas Alvarenga where he was asked if he was 'working today,' which police interpreted as code for committing an assault or murder. The plan to kill Oseguera-Funez reportedly required clearance from a higher-ranking gang member known as 'Marco,' whose identity remains unknown to the police.
