Two Sur-13 members charged in connection with Saturday night stabbing

By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times The New Garden Township Police Department responded to the 100 block of Thompson Road for a large fight on Saturday about 10 p.m. – a dispatch that was upgraded to a stabbing with shots fired before officers arrived to find that a children’s birthday party had erupted into mayhem, police said.

At the scene, officers observed 70 to 80 people in a parking lot and found a victim lying on the ground as witnesses applied pressure to his stab wounds, police said. The victim was transported to Christiana Hospital where he underwent surgery and is in stable condition, police said.

Witnesses told police that prior to the melee, people had gathered at a business that had been rented for a child’s birthday celebration, police said. The festivities were interrupted by an unknown number of uninvited guests, including Guillermo Renteria-Enciso, also known as “Terrorist,” and Emmanuel “Criminal” Renteria, both confirmed Sur-13 gang members from West Grove, police said. After the uninvited subjects were observed flashing gang signals, the hosts asked the party-crashers to leave, police said.

A short time later, a witness reported hearing two gunshots coming from the parking lot, police said. Upon going outside, the witness described seeing both Renteria-Enciso, 26, and his brother, Renteria, 25, yelling at a group of guests, adding that Renteria-Enciso was pulling the trigger of a handgun pointed in the direction of the crowd, police said.

The 29-year-old victim, who is not being identified by police, reported that he had been “punched” by Renteria, who is known to him as “Criminal,” at the same time that he witnessed “Terrorist” shoot a handgun twice into the ground, which stopped the assault, police said. The victim told police that moments later he realized he had been stabbed, not punched, in the abdomen and back, police said.

With assistance from Chester County Detectives, investigators took Renteria and Renteria-Enciso into custody without incident at 6 a.m. at their West Grove home. Renteria was incarcerated at Chester County Prison on several unrelated criminal warrants; further charges are pending review by the District Attorney’s Office, police said. Renteria-Enciso was arraigned on assault and firearms charges, including illegal gun possession; he was remanded to Chester County Prison after failing to post $500,000 cash bail, police said.

New Garden Township Police Chief Gerald R. Simpson applauded the quick work of investigators from his department as well as Chester County Detectives and said the investigation is ongoing. He urged witnesses to contact the department’s anonymous tip line at 610-268-2907, ext. 222. “All leads will be pursued,” he said.