Gaithersburg Man Sentenced To 27 Years In Federal Prison For Kidnapping Conspiracy
GREENBELT, Md. (WJZ) -- A Gaithersburg man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for kidnapping conspiracy.
Reynaldo Granados-Vasquez, 23, will serve 20 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for a kidnapping conspiracy.
According to Granados-Vasquez's plea agreement, he conspired with Joe Melendez-Rivera and Neris Moreno-Martinez to trick a victim, Jordy Mejia, to travel from New Jersey to Maryland under the promise that Mejia would meet a woman.
According to court documents, Granados-Vasquez, Melendez-Rivera and Moreno-Martinez were all members and associates of MS-13.
According to the plea agreement, Moreno-Martinez traveled to Maryland on October 15, 2016. Later that day, Mejia also traveled to Maryland.
Granados-Vasquez admitted that he traveled with Melendez-Rivera and Moreno-Martinez to a wooded area in Maryland. As a result of Mejia being tricked into coming from New Jersey to Maryland, Mejia was murdered in that same wooded area.
Melendez-Rivera, age 21, of Gaithersburg, was sentenced on June 17, 2019, to 20 years in federal prison. Moreno-Martinez, age 22, of New Jersey, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison on June 25, 2019.