Nine others charged in the killing are awaiting trial. Junior and the bodega owner appear to have an exchange with Kevin Alvarez before Junior is grabbed and beaten on the ground. Our investigation retraces his last steps and reveals how a recent wave of violence took his life just two blocks from home. . Both times the worker refuses to help the young teen. We've received your submission. At Least Your Colleague Spat Wasnt This Bad: Some things we just dont share with the class. THE BRONX He knew they had killed the wrong guy. Theodore Parisienne for The New York Times. Get notified about exclusive offers every week! Officers were called to a . Henry said Junior had a large open wound on the right side of his neck when she saw his body in the morgue. The defense will have a chance Monday to call witnesses to the stand if they chose. Prosecutors say that Jonaiki Martinez gave the fatal stab, slashing Juniors neck. The blood-soaked clothes worn by slain Bronx teen Lesandro Junior Guzman-Feliz as he was hacked at by a machete-wielding mob were displayed to jurors at the boys murder trial Thursday, prompting several spectators to burst into tears and his anguished father to exit the courtroom. It was very painful, Guzman told reporters in Spanish. All five defendants were found guilty of murder in first and second degree, as well as conspiracy and gang assault charges. And on the night before Juniors murder, he had witnessed another stabbing at Adams Place. The men, traveling in four cars, spotted Lesandro, and one of them shouted a Trinitarios greeting at him: Sunset, Popo, then 1090, which was a password Los Sures used to identify Sunset members, Mr. Alvarez and Mr. Reyes said. She detailed the fatal path of the knife through the teens neck, which left a gaping hole on one side and a puncture wound on the other. This 15-year-old boy, in the moments before his death, fought and fought like hell, Dolan said, according to the New York Daily News. stop killing our brothersThe full story about 15-year old teen junior stabbed to death Justice for. Mistaking him for a member of a rival set, the gang chased the boy, Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, for blocks in the Belmont section of the Bronx, prosecutors said. But the glee I saw in the eyes of spectators at the reading of straight convictions for Murder I was not founded. According to . The mural outside of the bodega where Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz was attacked bears his birth and death dates: 2002 and 2018. Prosecutors rested their case today in the Junior murder trial, but not without a graphic and powerful finish. Go after Sunset, you know what you have to do, Suero reportedly told the men. The store has not opened since last Wednesday when the incident took place. The referrals are a nice bonus too! Seeing his sons clothing proved too much to bear for Juniors father, Lesandro Guzman, who left the courtroom shortly after Oikawas testimony. . A teenager hunted down and dragged from a New York City bodega, then swarmed by attackers outside. ", "It was a terrible year, it felt like 10 years. Only someone in the gang would know the response. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Once that video was out, it took on a life of its own causing the defendants to lose the presumption of innocence and any chance for a fair trial (at least that close in time to the event itself under one year. The convicted killers will be sentenced Tuesday, July 16. She described, in heartbreaking detail, how Guzman-Feliz looked up at her after the attack and motioned her to call 911. He only said that one word -- "water," she testified. His English was poor. At least eight other men are on the lookout some, armed with knives. The trial, now in its fourth week, has been checkered with drama, with Juniors mom at one point screaming and sobbing in court in response to grisly CCTV footage shown of her sons murder. "The knife made it from the right side to left of Juniors neck, hit the muscle, hit the veinhit the tissue on the back side of the mouth," she said. A street was named after Junior, a scholarship fund, a summer camp. What is the derivation of this distorted quest for manhood and meaning? Prosecutors showed jurors an autopsy photo showing the lethal wound to the neck of Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz. Frederick Then was arrested in 2018 in connection with Lesandros death. Surveillance footage from June shows a street chase by suspected members of the Trinitarios gang, as they hunted down 15-year-old Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz. Passersby try to help. MORE: Justice for Junior Special: More than a Murder All of the men charged have pleaded not guilty. I represented one of the Machete Monsters and I liked him. In recent months, turf wars have spiked among rival Trinitario factions. Manuel Rivera came from the Dominican Republic (legally) at age 15 with his dad and two sisters. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. The ADA's argument also included graphic autopsy photos including the slit on Junior's neck the medical examiner says killed him. Yesterday lawyers for four of the suspects accused of stabbing 15-year-old . Defense lawyers for the four other defendants said in their closing arguments that the order from Mr. Suero had only been to injure a Sunset member, not to kill someone. A dozen people appeared in court facing charges related to the death of 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, who was killed in the Bronx. He was walking toward Adams Place, a small street about five minutes away thats known for gang activity. When Junior ran, the group gave chase. The federal judiciary is getting more diverse. Five more gang members pleaded guilty in the brutal machete stabbing death of Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz inside a Bronx bodega in 2018. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Heres how Lexis Search Advantage | Transactional unites internal and external research to create better deals faster. Instead, he said, he watched as other Trinitarios members dragged Junior outside and hacked him to death with machetes and knives. The murder of 15-year-old Guzman-Feliz, who was known as Junior, has captivated the community and public interest, partly because the brutal June 20 attack was caught on surveillance video where the teen is seen being dragged outside the bodega and attacked by a gang of five men who stabbed him with knives and hacked him with a machete as he struggled to defend himself. Alvarez, who testified last week as a cooperating witness, pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in a deal with Bronx prosecutors and is expected to serve no prison time. Content should be organized in different stages, from when potential clients search for initial information to eventually contacting your law firm. The jury of 11 women and a man took only two days to decide the fates of the defendants Jonaiki Martinez Estrella, 25, Antonio Rodriguez Hernandez Santiago, 25, Jose Muniz, 23, Manuel Rivera, 19, and Elvin Garcia, 25. In the video, we see the 15 . Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Frederick Then is the 14th person to be arrested in connection with the stabbing death of Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz in the Bronx last June. WNBC reported that the grisly images brought some of the jurors to tears. Junior came to symbolize all of the young people who have lost their lives to brutal gang violence, the Bronx district attorney, Darcel D. Clark, said. One man, identified by prosecutors as Jose Tavarez, enters the bodega and spots Junior. Although this position was strenuously argued by defense counsel, the jury ignored it. Five menSantiago Rodriguez, 24, Joniki Matinez, 24, Jose Muniz, 21, Danel Fernandez, 21, and Manuel Rivera, 18are currently on trial for the 2018 filmed murder. Just after the stabbing death of Lesandro "Junior" Guzman Feliz last June 20, members of the Trinitarios were examining a photo of gang . Mr. Martinez Estrella, a probationary member, boasted to the others that Lesandro would not eat for a very long time because I hit him in the neck, Mr. Reyes testified. Junior M&A Associate (1-3PQE, English-speaking role), Senior Projects/Projects Finance Lawyer (Korean,5+ PQE), Legal Knowledge Management To Drive Dealmaking, The Global Legal News You Need, When You Need It. Also consider other hobbies. The media ran with the narrative, promoted by the prosecution and the family of the deceased, that the 15-year-old was killed in a case of mistaken identification by gangbangers, viciously stabbed by all of them and killed, Caesar-like, from the cuts of many wounds. But I understand why the People adopted the Junior-as-saint story. Mr. Alvarez and Mr. Reyes described how their subsets of the Trinitarios terrorized rivals, including a Trinitarios splinter group called Sunset. One made a gesture as if he were going to hit Lesandro and the teenager ran, the witnesses said. Following that, no amount of logic, analysis, or pleas for reason could convince jurors to set aside their emotions. The cars briefly stop at this intersection, and then turn left in the direction of Juniors path. All rights reserved, Long Island Driver Wanted for Running From Deadly 7-Car Pileup, Upper East Side Deli Killer Clad in Hazmat Suit Likely Serial Robber: Sources, never-before-seen footage of the savage machete attack, self-proclaimed gang member who testified against the other five alleged Trinitarios members, The defense also tried to discredit Guzman-Feliz, Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Flight Attendant Hit the Ceiling': 7 Hospitalized After Severe Turbulence Diverts Flight to Virginia, Fight for NY Casino License Heats Up as Developers Drop Coney Island Boardwalk First Look, Viral Kids' Star Ms. Rachel Is Taking a Break From Social Media After Backlash Over Co-Star Who Uses They/Them Pronouns, After a weeks-long emotional trial with chilling revelations and graphic photos, the jury reached a verdict in the 'Junior' Guzman trial, All five defendants were found guilty of murder in first and second degree, as well as conspiracy and gang assault charges, One of the defendants was heard saying 'Trinitarios 'till the day I die' as he left the courtroom following the guilty verdicts. Its horrific, defense attorney Kyle Watters said of his client, Estrella. The referrals are a nice bonus too, Get to figuring your way around AI sooner rather than later, Enjoy. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. New Yorkers flooded investigators with tips. The officer said Juniors clothes had to be repackaged the day after they were vouchered into evidence as the blood was soaking through the paper bags they had been stored in. Their trial provided a glimpse inside the violent Trinitarios gang, whose members mistook 15-year-old Lesandro Junior Guzman-Feliz for a rival. If convicted, they face life in prison. Wounds to his hands believed to be caused by a sharp object, possibly a knife, were considered to be defensive wounds where Junior put his hands up to protect his face. Nothing can. dragged him from the store and stabbed him to death. Junior would go on to die outside of St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx. Members of the NYPD Junior league attend Lesandro Guzman-Feliz's funeral cerenomy at Our . That order came during a bloody feud within the Trinitarios that had pitted Sunset, which is based in Brooklyn, against Mr. Sueros two Bronx sets, the witnesses said. It is unclear if Reyes is in witness protection or has also been released with other gangbanger-turned-witness Kevin Alvarez, 20. After the verdict, Mr. Muniz showed no remorse and shouted, Popote, hasta la muerte! slang for Trinitarios until death.. Except thats not what happened. On June 20, members of both Bronx sets had spent much of the day hunting for their enemies, Mr. Alvarez said. Mr. Sueros trial is expected to start soon. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Students and staff from the Dr. Richard Izquierdo Health and Science Charter School gathered Friday to honor Lesandro "Junior" Guzman Feliz, who was tragically stabbed to death in 2018. She said it cut the bone that protects the spinal cord and left an exit wound on the other side of his neck. They also argued their clients were pretending to stab Lesandro because gang leaders were watching the assault. Guzman-Feliz's death sparked outrage in the Bronx and beyond and spurred the allocation of $18 million toward gang prevention in the borough. At about 10:30 p.m., the second-in-command of Los Sures, Frederick Then, 20, also known as Colita, told the men they were headed to the Little Italy section of the Bronx to search for their rivals. Prosecutors showed jurors an autopsy photo showing the lethal wound to the neck of Lesandro Junior Guzman-Feliz. Its Wednesday, June 20. Reyes said the order implied: If you have a gun, shoot it, if you a have a knife, you stab, if you have a machete, you use it.. At 11:35, a security camera films four cars driving slowly past the stoop where Juniors friend and some others were sitting. Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, known as 'Junior,' was mistaken for another person in a murder earlier this week described as "among the most brutal crimes I've seen in my 36yr career," New York . Five men approached, including Manuel, weapons in hand. Instead of turning to police, he turned to the Trinitarios, who like him, shared a Dominican heritage. "If they continue the violence in the city, theyre going to get the same thing. Prosecutors introduced three clips of video. Both times the worker refuses to help the young teen. This Tool Can Help. Police have identified them as: Danel Fernandez, Kevin Alvarez, and Michael Sosa Reyes, who has not been charged in relation to Juniors killing. Surveillance video shows Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz being dragged out and then hacked to death by five men with machetes on June 20, 2018, in the Bronx. Since the violent attack, the communitys outpouring of love and support has been seen in a mural. Several of the gang members got out of the cars and surrounded Lesandro, asking him questions. Then he starts running to St. Barnabas Hospital, just one block away. He felt cool. Oiwaka said Juniors clothes had to be repackaged the day after they were vouchered into evidence as the blood was soaking through the paper bags they had been stored in. She said the jugular wound caused him to lose a lot of blood, but blood rushed out more quickly because no one applied pressure and he ran to the hospital. Assistant District Attorney Morgan Dolan used her time to go into detail about what the five defendants are accused of doing trapping Guzman at the Bronx bodega and hacking him to death with a machete. Ultimately, he was slashed in the neck and died after running to a hospital three blocks away. The jury, comprised of 11 women and one man, reached the verdict Friday after going into deliberations Thursday. But Morgan Dolan, the lead prosecutor, countered that weapons like knives and machetes kill and the gang members went in knowing that.. Lesandro had bruising, scratches and small puncture wounds on his body, according to autopsy photos. Last Friday, five men were convicted of murder in the first degree for the killing of Lesandro "Junior" Guzman Feliz in June 2018. After Mr. Alvarez and Mr. Fernandez pulled the boy outside, the others attacked.
Part Of Florida With Least Bugs,
Articles J