Police arrested a suspect in the fatal shooting and stabbing of a 25-year-old man outside a Virginia restaurant early Monday morning.
A man in the parking lot of a McDonald’s in the 9000 block of Centreville Road in Manassas called 911 after hearing shots fired about 1:10 a.m. Monday.
“I heard two shots at first and then right after that three more shots,” he said.
The witness said it took him a few minutes to find the victim, who was face down on the asphalt outside a diner next to the McDonald’s. The victim, identified as Wilfredo Guardado-Huezo, 25, of Manassas, suffered gunshot and knife wounds.
“They tried to slice him pretty bad,” the witness said. “He was cut deep.”
The witness tried to get information from Guardado-Huezo, but Guardado-Huezo couldn’t speak.
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“I was like, 'Who did this to you? What happened? What's going on?’ and all he could do was moan,” the man said.
Surveillance video from the scene shows a white SUV parking behind the diner before 1 a.m. The driver of the SUV walked away, while two others stayed with the vehicle, smoking. When Guardado-Huezo rounded the corner of the building, the two men who were inside the SUV followed him.
Police identified the driver of the SUV as 20-year-old Denis Alexander Sanchez. He is being held without bond on a first-degree murder charge.
On Monday, police released a flyer showing a person of interest in the case, as well as photos of the vehicle involved.
In a nearby mobile home park, a man heard the shots and saw two men running down the street “like they stole something.”
“One of the guys had a gun in his hand,” he said. “The other guy had something that looked like a gun in his pocket.”
He said they jumped a fence into another mobile home park.
Police searched with a K-9 but didn’t find them.
The owner of Don Julio's said Guardado-Huezo was inside his restaurant Sunday night but wasn’t involved in any incidents inside. Surveillance video shows Guardado-Huezo and Sanchez sitting in the bar just feet away from one another. When Guardado-Huezo left the bar, Sanchez is seen going to the bathroom, presumably to signal the two others waiting by the SUV.
The Northern Virginia Gang Task Force is assisting the investigation, but police haven't confirmed the slaying was related to gang activity.
"It's still too early to speculate whether it's gang-related at this time, but we're investigating all possible leads and motive," said Chuck Sharp of Manassas Police.
Guardado was not involved in gang activity and spent most of his time working or with family, friends said.
"It surprises me someone could hurt another person like that when he was so good, such a good person," a friend said. "He was just having fun wit his friends."
A GoFundMe page was created to raise funds to send Wil Guardado's body back to El Salvador.
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call police at 703-330-0330. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for any information that leads to an arrest in this case.
