BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. – The trial for Josue Coreas-Ventura, one of the last accused MS-13 gang members charged with the 2017 murder of Lynchburg teen Raymond Wood continued Thursday.
Another alleged gang member, Christian Jose Sanchez-Gomez, faces multiple charges in connection with Wood’s murder but testified against the defendant.
He was not allowed to be filmed in the courtroom.
The soft-spoken witness told prosecutors he traveled from Maryland to Lynchburg with a group of other alleged gang members, but he claimed he did not know why.
It wasn’t until he was at the defendant’s apartment, saw the nearly 10-inch knife, and heard the defendant allegedly say they were going to “use it to make the soup” or murder someone.
Sanchez-Gomez says the group arrived at Wood’s home, where they beat him, then drove him to Bedford County as the defendant choked Wood unconscious.
They brought the teen’s body to the side of the road, where he says the men took turns stabbing Woods with that knife.
The witness claimed a car was coming, so the men ran right before it was his turn to use the knife.
The defense questioned his credibility -- saying he originally lied to investigators after the murder, and is now also trying to distance himself from the gang.
More witnesses are expected to testify Friday.