NEW YORK — An MS-13 gang member admitted participating in the brutal murder of four young men on Long Island in 2017.
Edwin Rodriguez, 24, pleaded guilty Wednesday to racketeering charges in connection with the April 11, 2017 deaths of Justin Llivicura, Michael Lopez, Jorge Tigre and Jefferson Villalobos in Central Islip.
The 17-year-old, who authorities say knew the nickname “Manicomio,” fled the country after the murders, but was arrested in El Salvador in 2019 and extradited to the United States in 2022.
Rodriguez’s attorney, Glenn Obedin, said in an emailed statement after the proceeding in federal court in Central Islip that his client was “relieved” to have reached a plea deal and was “ready now to move on.” next phase of the procedure and to the next phase of your life. Rodríguez faces life in prison for the crimes.
Prosecutors said Rodriguez was a member of the MS-13 clique Normandie Locos Salvatruchas that killed rival gang members who were considered to have disrespected MS-13 in their social media posts.
Rodriguez and other gang members lured the five youths to a wooded park in Central Islip under the pretense of smoking marijuana, prosecutors said. Instead, nearly a dozen MS-13 members and associates armed with machetes, knives, an ax and wooden clubs attacked them under the cover of night.
Prosecutors said one of the intended victims escaped, but the other four were hacked, stabbed and clubbed to death and their bodies were discovered the following night.
More than a dozen MS-13 members and associates have been charged in connection with the murders, which were part of a series of gruesome gang-related deaths that shocked residents and underscored the deepening problem of violence. of gangs in the eastern suburbs of New York. City.
MS-13 began as a neighborhood street gang in Los Angeles, but grew into a transnational gang based in El Salvador. It has members in Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico and thousands of members throughout the United States with numerous branches or “cliques,” according to federal authorities.
2024-04-04 01:49:15
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