A little more than two months after their arraignment, the three defendants charged with the July 29, 2009 murder of Maryland resident and pimp Claros Luna were let off of the hook slightly.

The trial date awaits on May 10, but a court document filed in U.S. District Court on February 16 notified the attorneys of Arlington resident Alcides Umana and Eris Arguera and Adolfo Portillo, both of Alexandria, that the federal government would not pursue the death penalty in the case.

The three suspects, affiliated with the MS-13 gang, were eligible for the death penalty or life in prison but a February 3 letter from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to Neil H. MacBride directed the Alexandria U.S. Attorney to not pursue the death penalty, the document stated.

Luna, 40, was shot to death in his silver Honda Accord on Manor Road in Beverley Hills while transporting a prostitute from Maryland, according to court documents. Umana, Arguera and Portillo were indicted in the murder last November.