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A Montgomery County Circuit Court jury found a 21-year-old Aspen Hill man guilty of murder Wednesday evening in the stabbing death of a 21-year-old Wheaton man this past July.

Jose Vasquez, of the 4400 block of Sigsbee Road, was found guilty on all four counts of murder, assault, riot and conspiracy charges against him after a three-day trial relating to the daytime July 7 stabbing in the Greenwood Knolls neighborhood of Glenmont. Vasquez, an alleged gang member, faces life in prison and is set to be sentenced April 19.

Prosecutors said Vasquez was part of a group of six men and teens, all believed to be members of the Chicago-based Latin Kings gang, who chased, assaulted and killed Edwin Umana after he called out to several women sitting on the porch of a home in the 13100 block of Matey Road.

Vasquez's attorneys, public defenders Mary Tyler and William Snoddy, could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday evening.

The others charged with murder are: Christian Salmeron, 20, and Jose A. Hernandez, 16, both of the 4300 block of Ferrara Drive in Wheaton; Deshaun Budd-Bey, 18, of the 12800 block of Bluhill Road in Wheaton; Kevin Miranda, 17, of the 10800 block of Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring; and Anthony Racedo, 18, of the 12700 block of Bushey Drive in Wheaton.

At issue in the trial was who actually stabbed Umana in the head, a wound police said was so serious he died the next day in the hospital. Vasquez admitted to police he stabbed Umana in the temple while five others kicked him as he lay on the ground, according to charging documents.

Salmeron pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Jan. 21 and will be sentenced on March 26. The charge carries a maximum of 30 years, but his attorney, Rockville-based Alex Foster, estimates he'll get 15 or 20 years. Foster said his client didn't plead guilty to first-degree murder because he never stabbed anyone and never had any pre-meditation.

"He got caught up in something which was tragic and unfortunate, and he's really sorry about what happened, and he never intended to kill anybody," Foster said Thursday.

Budd-Bey, Hernandez, Miranda and Racedo go to trial on May 24.

Rockville-based defense attorney Charles Lipscomb, speaking for his client Racedo in an August interview after Racedo was indicted, said he thinks the first-degree murder charges against his client will be dropped because of a lack of evidence.

"It's clear that my client didn't stab this guy," Lipscomb said.

Rockville-based defense attorney Jennifer Page, who is representing Budd-Bey, also said in August she believes murder charges will be dropped against her client and each defendant will be prosecuted according to his connection to the assault.

"The different young men had very different involvement," she said.

Hernandez's attorney, public defender Sherryl Statland, could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday. Miranda's attorney, Rockville-based Carlos Salvado, also was not available for comment.

On Aug. 13, prosecutors dropped related first-degree murder charges against another teen, Hirbin Bladimir Guerrero, 16, of the 11300 block of Schuylkill Road in Rockville.

Original witness accounts placed Guerrero close to Umana's body, but prosecutors later found evidence proving he didn't leave the porch during the murder, said his attorney, Wheaton-based Andrew Jezic.

"It's just really sad that he spent 45 days in jail," Jezic said.