The trial of a 58-year-old man accused of killing three men in 2023 begins

The trial is currently underway against a 58-year-old man who faces a number of charges after he allegedly killed three men in 2023.

Elias Gudino is charged with aggravated murder, attempted murder and kidnapping.

The crimes occurred in March 2023, when the bodies of Inmer Reyes and Victor Varela-Rodriguez were found on Cordova Avenue in Akron.

Police said Reyes and Varela-Rodriguez were gagged, bound and shot in the head.

Within an hour, the body of another man, Domingo Castillo-Reyes, was found on Wright Road in Copley; he was killed in the same way.

RELATED: Bodies of two men found bound and gagged in Akron woods; Third body found in Copley

Investigators said the men were allegedly kidnapped by Gudino of Youngstown and that the men were non-U.S. citizens from Honduras.

Another man was found wandering in Copley earlier in the day after Gudino allegedly shot him. A bullet grazed his head and he survived by playing dead, police said.

RELATED: The fourth bound and gagged victim found in Summit County had also been shot in the head but survived

Coincidentally, the police and the victim had stopped at a gas station during the interview, and Gudino happened to be there at the same time.

After the victim identified Gudino as the suspected shooter, police arrested him.

In his opening statement Monday, a prosecutor described the victims' condition at the time they were found.

“All three individuals were found on the side of the road with blue tape around their heads and their wrists bound,” said Summit County Assistant Prosecutor Zachary Neumann. “It later emerged that 'MS 13' was written on their chests and that they all suffered single gunshot wounds to the head.”

The inscription “MS 13” on the victims’ chest refers to an international criminal gang.

The defense said Gudino was under duress and forced into the kidnappings by someone in a drug cartel. They said Gudino wasn't the one who pulled the trigger.

“We’re not going to challenge a lot of the evidence. You heard the prosecutor talk about many things that we agree on. It's a terrible tragedy, but who is behind it, the reasons for it and who decided on it?” said defense attorney Noah Munyer. “And the question is simple: Is he the fifth hostage or the mastermind?”

Gudino is expected to testify in the trial, which is expected to last several weeks.