3 MS-13 Members Sentenced To Prison For Murder Of 19-Year-Old

BRENTWOOD, NY - Three MS-13 gang members were sentenced on Thursday to over 20 years in prison and face deportation after their sentence for the 2014 murder of a 19-year-old in Brentwood, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Milton Contreras, 22, Oscar Welman Espinoza-Merino, 35, and Jose Osmin Rubio. 30, all of Brentwood were each sentenced by United States District Judge Margo K. Brodie for killing fellow gang member Sidney Valverde, according to the U.S. DOJ.

Contreras was sentenced to 27 years’ imprisonment, while Espinoza-Merino and Osmin Rubio were each sentenced to over 24 years’ imprisonment, according to the U.S. DOJ.

Byron Lopez, 26, of Queens was also charged with Valverde's murder but he will be sentenced at a later date.

In Feb. 2014, all four men directed Valverde to travel to Long Island under the false pretense that they needed him to assist in gang business there, according to the U.S. DOJ.

They had planned to kill Valverde because they believed that he was providing information about the gang’s activities to law enforcement, according to the U.S. DOJ

After Valverde arrived in Long Island, the four shot him in the back of the head and left his body on Miller Place Beach where it was discovered by a beachcomber two weeks later, the U.S. DOJ said.

“The individuals that committed this heinous act of violence are rightfully where they belong. While in prison, they can reflect on the terror and pain they inflicted on their community," Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent-in-Charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said. "Gangs like MS-13 that seek to terrorize the community putting citizens at fear for their lives should know that law enforcement is committed to rooting this evil from our society and making the streets safe for everyone."

“It is not a secret that MS-13 gang members are violent for the sake of being violent, and in this particular case exhibited their murderous ways by executing a teenager in Long Island,” Angel M. Melendez, Special Agent-in-Charge, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said. “As they use violence to seek power through instilling fear into the neighborhoods in which they live, we will be relentless working with our partners to dismantle this vicious gang and bring peace back to the communities.”

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