*If you are one of the many who were outraged by the senseless slaying of 15-year-old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz of the Bronx by suspected gang members last year, know that they killers have been found guilty.
On Friday, Antonio Rodriguez Hernandez Santiago, Elvin Garcia, Manuel Rivera, Jose Muniz, and Jonaiki Martinez Estrella were found guilty of first- and second-degree murder, gang assault, and conspiracy in the second degree.
“A message is going through to people who see what happened with those killers: if they continue to [inflict] violence in the city, they are going to get the same thing,” Leandra Feliz, the victim’s mother, said at a news conference at Bronx Criminal Court.
“Everybody in the room was happy. Every single person that was inside the room was very happy,” a family member of Guzman-Feliz said, describing the atmosphere inside the courtroom when the verdict was announced.
As we reported, Guzman-Feliz was dragged out a bodega in the Bronx and attacked with machetes and knives on June 20, 2018.
Sadly we came to find out that Guzman-Feliz’s killing was a case of mistaked identity. But prosecutors argued the suspects were members of the Trinitarios gang, on a mission to hurt rival gang members.
We’re talking about hardcore gang bangers. As an example, two of the suspects were seen smirking after the verdict was announced, and one looked at the courtroom audience and shouted “Hasta la muerte” (“Until I die”) as he was led out, an apparent yell of allegiance to the gang.
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Family members of Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz say they are overjoyed with the guilty verdict against five suspects in the killing of the Bronx teenager.
Junior’s mother says the verdict is a message to anyone who inflicts violence in New York City. https://t.co/l4nkTwXxVz pic.twitter.com/D8MzwV5fdL
— Spectrum News NY1 (@NY1) June 14, 2019
Here’s more from NY1:
The jury reached the verdict after less than two days of deliberations, during which jurors sent the judge six notes asking to see more evidence. They also asked to be informed of the testimony again and to see photo and video evidence of the killing. Kevin Alvarez and Michael Reyes, two of the men charged in the case, were cooperating witnesses in the case.
14 suspects were charged in the case overall. The other nine men will be tried at a later date.
All of the defendants have pleaded not guilty and face the possibility of life in prison without parole. The five convicted Friday are due back in court July 16.
Authorities said they made more than 70 felony arrests linked to the Trinitarios gang.
Guzman-Feliz was part the of the NYPD’s Explorers Program, a group for youths interested in a law enforcement career, and dreamed of becoming a police officer one day.
By the way, the now convicted defendants include Jonaiki Martinez Estrella, who prosecutors say dealt the death blow in the caught-on-video butchery.
Video shows Martinez Estrella stabbing the teen clear through the neck with a long knife.
A coroner testified that this stab wound was the only fatal injury dealt in the attack.
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