MS-13 Member Found Guilty In 2017 Attempted Murder

An MS-13 gang member was convicted on Thursday of attempted murder for trying to stab a 19-year-old man to death in April 2017, while another gang member shot at and attacked the man with a machete in Westbury.

Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said that Miguel Urias Argueta, 20, was convicted of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree criminal use of a firearm, first-degree attempted assault, second-degree criminal use of a firearm, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree attempted assault.

Argueta is due back in court for sentencing on April 9, and faces a minimum of 10 years in prison, and a maximum of 40.

“For a year, this 19-year-old victim was threatened and harassed because he would not join MS-13 and when that didn’t work, they tried to kill him,” Singas said. “Fortunately, the victim survived the attack despite the shots fired and the attempts to kill him with a machete and a knife. This case is another example of MS-13’s signature brutality and the reason why I am committed to eradicating them from Nassau County.”

Around 12:30 a.m. on April 3o, 2017, the victim and his friend were smoking a cigarette and laughing outside of a home on Dover Street in Westbury. Argueta, along with brothers Jose and Fidel Hernandez, rode by on bikes three times, then came back minutes later. Fidel Hernandez asked the two waht they were laughing about, and the victims aid he could laugh at whatever he wanted. Fidel Hernandez then told them “the beast is going to take you,” which an MS-13 reference meaning you are going to die.

After that, an argument started, and Fidel Hernandez took out a machete and swung several times at the victim, tearing his shirt and scratching his stomach. During that attack, Argueta pulled out a knife and tried to stab the victim, while Jose Hernandez took out a gun and fired several shots at the victim as he ran away, all of which missed.

The attack was the culmination of a year of threats made by the gang members to the victim, who refused to join MS-13 and had to eventually drop out of school because of the gang’s intimidation.

All three gang members were arrested May 2, 2017 by members of the Nassau County Police Department's Gang Investigation Squad.

Jose Hernandez was sentenced to six years in prison on Jan. 23, 2019 after pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree attempted murder. Fidel Hernandez was sentenced to four years in prison on Jan. 30, 2019 after pleading guilty to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.