Tattoo leads to arrest of 11th suspect in 2009 Gaithersburg killing

Montgomery County detectives have arrested an eleventh suspect they believe is responsible for the January 2009 gang-related killing of a 15-year-old Maryland boy whose body was found in a creek in Gaithersburg.

The victim, Dennys Alfredo Guzman-Saenz, had been stabbed approximately 72 times, prosecutors have said.

Detectives believe Guzman-Saenz was abducted in Langley Park by members of the 18th Street gang who mistakenly thought he was a member of a rival gang. Until recently, detectives had interviewed and charged 10 suspects. As they did, they learned of another known only as "Tremendo."

His true identity remained unknown for several months, police said. On Jan. 19, police in Washington, D.C., arrested a suspect in connection with an armed robbery. He had a tattoo of a devil on his shoulder and a tattoo of "K Tremendo" on his stomach.

Montgomery County detectives interviewed him after he'd been placed in a juvenile group home, and became convinced they had enough information to get a warrant charging him with murder, according to a police spokeswoman.

But while the police were obtaining the warrent, the suspect fled from the group home. He managed to make his way to Texas, the spokeswoman said. He was eventually taken into custody in New Braunsfel, Texas, just outside of San Antonio.

Montgomery police identified "Tremendo" as Edgar Antonio Garcia-Zavala, 18, of the 3900 block of 14th Street in Nortwest D.C. As of Friday he was being held in Texas awaiting an extradition hearing. Montgomery police have a warrant charging him with first-degree murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, according to authorities.

Garcia-Zavala, a member of the 18th Street gang, was a passenger in one of two vehicles that drove to Malcolm King Park and participated in the stabbings that occurred there, according to police.

Police said the previous suspects arrested, all members of or associated with the 18th Street gang, include Daniel Abisail Zavala, Ysaud Flores, Silvia Martinez, Joel Yonathan Ventura Quintanilla, Edwin Antonio Lopez, David Antonio Lozano, Ana Idalia Abarca, Ana Villatoro, Joel Antonio Lovo-Reyes, and Francis Emerson Artiga-Cardoza.

With the arrest of Garcia-Zavala, detectives believe all of the suspects responsible for the murder of Dennys Guzman-Saenz have been identified and taken into custody, police said.

-- Dan Morse