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The two teenagers who fatally attacked a 20-year-old Aspen Hill man in March will serve time in jail for the crime, and the mother of the victim said she is glad his attackers will be locked away.

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Durke G. Thompson on Thursday afternoon ordered that Alvin Rey Valdez, 16, of Wheaton serve out a 15-year jail sentence at the state's Patuxent Institution in Jessup, which has a youthful offenders program. He was charged as an adult.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Aug. 19 and the plea bargain set a cap of 15 years in jail.

Jose Romero, also of Wheaton, who was 14 years old at the time of the incident, was assigned by Thompson to a youth detention facility in Pennsylvania until age 21 or when officials there deem him to be rehabilitated if sooner. Romero was initially charged as an adult and pleaded guilty to the same charge. The Gazette is using his name because he was originally charged as an adult.

The name of the facility is not being disclosed because Catherine E. Woolley, a Rockville attorney representing Romero, said she fears retaliation.

Romero's adjudicatory hearing followed Valdez's sentencing.

"That was the sentence the judge decided and the rest God will decide," Rosa Orrego, mother of fatally injured Henry Ortiz, said in Spanish after the sentencing. A family member translated for her.

Valdez and Romero, of separate residences in the 3500 block of Harrell Street, were charged in March with assaulting and stabbing Ortiz. The incident occurred March 11 and Ortiz died about a week later from his injuries, county police said.

Valdez and Romero were members of the gang Lil R, while the victim was a member of MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, said Capt. Paul Starks, Montgomery County Police spokesman.

Ortiz was walking from Hewitt Avenue across Georgia Avenue to a bus stop when he exchanged hand gestures meant to symbolize gang signs with two men as they approached and the three began fighting behind the bus shelter, county police said.

The three rolled down an embankment and Valdez took out a knife and stabbed Ortiz multiple times, police said. The assailants ran away, leaving Ortiz bleeding on the ground, according to charging documents in District Court.

The documents also state there had been recent "quarrels" between the Lil R gang and MS-13.

Friends and members of the Ortiz, Romero and Valdez families filled the courtroom for both hearings. One teenage girl wore a shirt with Ortiz's image.

Christopher Castro, Valdez's 23-year-old cousin, called the incident a "true horror." He said in court that Valdez and his twin brother had a difficult childhood, which was not helped by a move from Guam to the United States, constant teasing from other children and strained relationships with their parents.

When he got older, Castro sought to adopt the brothers, but his efforts were stalled because he was serving in the military and sent to Iraq, Castro testified in court. He found out about the stabbing before he returned home.

Castro said Valdez, who was sitting in the courtroom during his disposition, had prayed for Ortiz's recovery and expressed remorse.

"I know for a fact that Alvin is hurt about this," the Newport News, Va., resident said. "I know Alvin is a good kid and I would stake anything I have on it."

Orrego, who spoke in court through a translator, cried hysterically as she spoke of losing her son.

"It hurts so much even though it happened months ago," she said. "It hurts as if this happened yesterday."

Orrego described her son as a hard-working man who had come to the U.S. from El Salvador when he was 15 years old and had done all he could to support her and his three children.

"It's not just one life that has been taken away," the Silver Spring resident said. "[There are] three children who are going to be orphans and there are no reasons for them to be orphans because of people who don't think."

Orrego denied that Ortiz was a gang member and said it must have been a case of mistaken identity.

"I also don't think my son was doing [gang] symbols to them because my son was following the path of God," she said.

Jeffrey Wennar, an assistant state's attorney for Montgomery County, also said there was no "credible evidence" that Ortiz was a gang member.

Mary Siegfried, who is the juvenile court supervisor for the Montgomery County's Office of the Public Defender, asked that Valdez receive the minimum recommended sentence of 12 years because of his young age, but Wennar said he needed to serve a longer sentence.

He noted that while Valdez's family would be able to able to "hug him, to kiss him" in jail, the same was not true for Ortiz's family.

"Ms. Orrego lost a son, his children lost a father and his brothers lost a brother," Wennar said.

Valdez, who remained solemn as people spoke, read from a written statement before he was sentenced.

"I am sorry for what I have done," he said quietly. "I have caused a lot of pain for him and his family and my family. I did not mean for him to die."

Valdez said he had never even seen Ortiz before that day, noting "gangs made us enemies and I regret that."

Romero, who appeared serious in the courtroom, declined to speak during his hearing.

Thompson said that in all of his years as a judge, never had he been faced with such a "grave crime and such young defendants involved."

He noted that he hoped Valdez would use the time in jail to turn his life around.

"If you enter with an open heart and mind, you may well prosper in the long run," he said.

Thompson had similar thoughts for Romero.

"You must understand that you are suffering the consequences of your acts," he said.

Thompson added that Romero still has time to make more of his life.

"The damage is done and I have only to think of the future," he said.

Reynaldo Valdez, Alvin's father, hugged family members after the sentencing. He said he thought the sentence his son received was fair.

"I think everybody did their jobs with the police report and everything," he said, adding he had nothing else to say.

Romero's father, mother and uncle — who would not give their names — said they did not want to comment.

Woolley said she thought Thompson made just decisions in both cases.

"We're gratified that the court listened before it decided and then made an appropriate determination," she said. "I think Judge Thompson was very considerate and thoughtful in both of these matters."