Two top Trinitarios gang leaders were found guilty of murder on Friday for ordering the fatal attack of a 15-year-old boy who was dragged out of a Bronx deli four years ago and attacked. to death with a knife and a machete.
The depraved details of the murder were captured on video, shocking New York City like some other crimes. The young victim, Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, pleaded with store staff to let him hide behind the counter after trying to outrun his attackers.
It was a case of mistaken identity, carried out by rival groups of a well-organized organization, police said. Dominican gang gained a foothold in New York City after being founded in 1993 by detainees on the island of Rikers.
More than a dozen men were charged in the weeks following the murder as advice from residents flooded in because of the frenzied nature of the crime.
Five of the men seen on the video attacking the boy, who is known across the city as Junior, had to serve lengthy sentences after being arrested. sentenced in 2019Bronx district attorney, Darcel D. Clark, said.
The two men found guilty Friday after a four-week trial, Diego Suero, 33, of the Bronx, and Frederick Then, 24, of Pennsylvania, were the leaders of a Trinitarios group known as Los Surés .
The court’s testimony showed that Mr Then – Mr Suero’s second in command – summoned gang members to Mr Suero’s house and ordered them to attack a rival gathering known as Sunset.
Prosecutors said the group, armed with weapons, set off in four cars, stopping only to refuel.
Junior, who lives in the Bronx and participated in the New York Police Department’s “Explorer” program for students hoping to become officers, was mistaken for a member of a rival group, authorities said. know.
At about 11:40 a.m. on June 20, 2018, Junior was walking alone in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx, looking at his phone when he was arrested. The men chased him for about four blocks, eventually catching up with him as he tried to hide inside. Cruz and Chiky Grocerya bodega at East 183rd Street and Bathgate Avenue.
Then watched the attack from a short distance and then called Mr Suero to report that his order had been carried out, Ms. Clark said.
“We said we would get justice for Junior and this ruling has done it,” Ms Clark said in a statement, adding that she hoped it would bring “some consolation to the family.” his family, who have endured so much pain.”
After the murder, a member of the gang sent a message to Mr. Suero, saying, “You were the one who brought light to the child,” according to prosecutors.
Mr. Suero replied, “Yes, for all Sunsets.”
Junior’s funeral drew more than 1,000 mourners, forcing police to close the street outside the Bronx funeral home.
Mr. Suero and Mr. Then are expected to be sentenced on September 16; each faces 25 years in prison.
The boy’s mother, Leandra Feliz, who attended parts of the trial, could not be immediately reached for comment.
In 2019, after the first five men were convicted, Ms. Feliz said she lived with unimaginable pain.
“That night, two people died: Junior and I, who were left inside,” Ms. Feliz told The New York Times. “If it was up to me, I would sentence these murderers to 300 years in prison.”
