Alleged MS-13 Members Plead Not Guilty In Attempted Kidnapping

BRENTWOOD, NY – Five people connected to the MS-13 gang all pleaded not guilty to attempting to kidnap and kill a 16-year-old boy in Brentwood this month, according to court records.

Oscar Fuentes, 18, Jorge Bermudez-Cedillos, 18, Lilliana Villanueva, 17, Vidal Contrera-Ortiz, 18, and Miguel Rivera, 20, were all charged with second degree kidnapping, second degree attempted kidnapping, first degree conspiracy and fifth degree conspiracy.

SCPD photos from L-R: Jorge Bermudez Cedillos, Oscar Fuentes, Miguel Rivera, Vidal Ortiz Contreras and Lillianna Villanueva

The five were arrested on Dec. 9 after they tried to abduct a 16-year-old boy near Brentwood High School.

Two detectives saw a van with the group approach the teen and noticed that they were trying to "coerce" him to try to get into the van, police said.

The detectives noticed the group matched the description of suspects from a previous incident and held them at gunpoint until patrol officers arrived to arrest them, police said.

Police also found weapons such as a knife, bat, tarp and duct tape in the van during the arrest, according to a Newsday report.

Villanueva, who is in 9th grade; Fuentes, who is in 11th grade, and Bermudez-Cedillos, who is also in 9th grade are unaccompanied alien children from El Salvador, police said.

Rivera and Contrera are undocumented immigrants from El Salvador, police said.

Fuentes, Bermudez-Cedillos, Rivera and Contrera were all held on $500,00 cash bail or $1 million bond, according to court records. Villaneueva was held on a $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond.

The group were found to either be members of MS-13 or connected to the gang, according to a report, police said.

Prosecutors have claimed that the group was attempting to "elevate their status" by killing the 16-year-old, PIX11 reports.

However the attorneys for the group are stating that the five have no connection to the gang and have no criminal records, Newsday reports.

"Just because someone is from El Salvador doesn’t mean he is a member of MS-13,” Fuentes' attorney Peter Mayer of Hauppauge, told Newsday.

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