This Thursday, the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court vacated the first-degree murder conviction of Jonaiki Martínez-Estrella, who had previously been convicted of the first-degree murder of Junior” Guzmán-Feliz.
The 15-year-old was murdered in front of a bodega in June 2018.
The appeals court ruled that Martínez-Estrella must now be reconvicted of murder, but in the second degree, writing: “The evidence established that the defendant committed an extremely heinous second-degree murder. However, we vacated the first degree murder conviction under Penal Law 125.27 because the evidence did not establish the very specific elements of that crime.”
On October 11, 2019, Judge Robert Neary sentenced Martínez-Estrella to life in prison without parole for the first-degree murder conviction, which involved an element of “torture.”
The “Junior” murder moved New Yorkers, due to its horrifying nature that was also captured by surveillance cameras. Several members of the Trinitarios, a Dominican gang, chased “Junior” down the street, before dragging him out of a bodega and repeatedly stabbing him on the sidewalk. Supposedly, the group mistook “Junior” for someone else.
Five gang members were convicted in 2019 and sentenced to more than 20 years in prison. Another of those involved got life in prison without parole.
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Jonaiki Martinez Estrella (first from left), who authorities say inflicted the fatal stab wound on ‘Junior’ in the neck, was sentenced to life in prison without parole. While José Muñiz (to his right), was sentenced to life imprisonment, with 25 years in prison before being able to receive any benefit that allows him to get out of jail.
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Manuel Rivera (third from left to right), was sentenced to life in prison with 23 years in prison before being able to receive any benefits that allow him to get out of jail.
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Antonio Rodríguez Hernández Santiago and Elvin García (fourth and fifth from left to right) were sentenced to life in prison with 25 years in prison before being able to receive any benefits that would allow them to be released from prison.
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“They got what they deserved. They brought it on themselves,” said ‘Junior’s’ mother, Leandra Feliz.
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The trial was high security.
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The young Lesandro Guzmán-Feliz, of Dominican origin, had gone to a store in the Bronx that night to pay a five-dollar debt, when he was approached by the suspects, who stabbed him and then escaped in a vehicle.
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‘Junior’ tried to reach a hospital, but died in the attempt. The entire heartbreaking event, however, was captured on surveillance cameras.
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It was later learned that the gang members were looking for someone else, whom they mistook for the teenager.
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The murder of the teenager, whose dream was to be a police officer, was known throughout the country. The slogan “Justice for Junior” has become a hallmark of the case.
