On the night of July 14, 2007, 19-year-old Francisco Quintanilla was outside a house in Riverdale, Prince George’s County, with friends when a black Honda Civic carrying four men drove up. A passenger shouted Mara Salvatrucha and demanded the group’s gang affiliation. After a friend said they were not in a gang, the passenger opened fire; Quintanilla was fatally wounded.

Witnesses identified Mario Rodriguez Gutierrez as the passenger and the shooter. Prosecutors linked the killing to Gutierrez’s membership in MS-13; expert testimony at trial described the gang’s violent customs, including initiation and retaliation for perceived slights. A Prince George’s County jury convicted Gutierrez of first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and using a handgun in a crime of violence, and the conviction was later affirmed on appeal.

Anyone who knew Francisco or was in Riverdale that night and has information is asked to come forward.