El Salvador National Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison for 1997 Double Murder

WASHINGTON - Oscar Diaz Romero, aka Oscar Alonzo Salguero, 47, of El Salvador, was sentenced today for shooting and killing Jose Roberto Molina, 21, and Jose Noel Coreas, 22, in August 1997, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Diaz Romero was found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder on March 25, 2026. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman ordered Diaz Romero to serve 24 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised probation.

"Nearly thirty years after fleeing justice, Oscar Diaz Romero's day of reckoning has come," said U.S. Attorney Pirro. "Let this be clear: if you commit murder in our community and attempt to escape accountability, my office will never rest until you are brought to justice. Today's sentencing affirms that violent acts against our residents will be met with consequences."

According to the government's evidence, in the early morning hours of August 9, 1997, Diaz Romero and several friends were out on the 2nd floor of the then-Las Rocas restaurant in the 2400 block of 18th Street, NW. Just before 2 a.m., a group of young men entered the restaurant and began fighting. Then Diaz Romero pulled out a revolver and fired several times. One round hit and killed Jose Molina, a 22-year-old father of two. Another round hit and killed Jose Coreas, who was out celebrating his 22nd birthday.

Diaz Romero fled the scene to El Salvador, where he was arrested in 2024. He was extradited to the United States in January 2025, where he has been in custody since.

Joining the announcement was Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Interim Chief Carroll commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department.

They also thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Dennis Clark and Richard Carlton, who prosecuted the case.

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