An Alexandria resident has been arrested and charged with the murder of two people, including an Arlington man.

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office announced that 18-year-old Marlyn Medrano-Ortiz, a suspected MS-13 member, has been arrested and charged with second degree murder for a double homicide in Sterling in August.

According to a release from Loudoun Sheriff Mike Chapman, Medrano-Ortiz is charged in the August murders of Mijal Conejero-Romera, a 22-year-old Sterling woman, and Diego Alexander Woollett, a 22-year-old Arlington resident. 28.

Chapman said the couple was shot and killed after an apparent argument in the 21000 block of Ridgetop Circle, near Dulles Town Center.

Medrano-Ortiz was arrested Wednesday night near the Arlington border in the Arlandria neighborhood of Alexandria.

“On October 23, at approximately 6:01 p.m., in the 4100 block of Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria PD officers recognized the suspect from a police bulletin shared with our partners,” Chapman said. “Thanks to their initiative, they were able to arrest Marlyn Medrano-Ortiz … in cooperation with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and the US Marshals Service.”

Chapman noted in the release that Medrano-Ortiz was in the United States illegally. Chapman reiterated his opposition to the “random treatment of persons in this country illegally who commit crimes against American citizens and others.”

“This remains an ongoing investigation, and additional charges related to the deaths of both victims will be forthcoming,” the press release added.

Born in Colombia, Woollett immigrated to the United States at the age of 14. He graduated from Washington-Liberty High School in 2022 and began working as a driver for Amazon. That’s how he met Conejero-Romera, his girlfriend, who worked in one of the company’s warehouses. Woollett enjoyed playing soccer and had planned to start college this fall, his mother previously told ARLnow.

Photo via Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook