Nassau MS-13 Member Sentenced For Two Murders

An MS-13 gang member from Hempstead was sentenced to 32 years to life in prison on Tuesday for shooting a teenager to death in 2016 and hacking a man to death with a machete in 2017.

Edar Ventura, 21, also known as "Trauma" and "Despiadado," pleaded guilty on March 14to two counts of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

“Edar Ventura is a cold-blooded killer who ruthlessly murdered two young men to rise up in MS-13’s hierarchy of brutality,” said Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas. “This gang terrorizes young people from vulnerable immigrant communities with senseless violence every day, but the relentless efforts of law enforcement have MS-13 on the run. While nothing can replace the young lives lost in these tragic murders, we hope this sentence helps provide some closure to the victims’ families and friends.”

On Dec. 13, 2016, Ventura and Jeustin David Maldonado, both members of MS-13, were trying to kill a perceived enemy of the gang. The two rode bicycles on Fenimore Avenue in Uniondale, where they found their intended target sitting in a car.

Maldonado ordered the man out of the car, and Ventura pulled out a gun and fired at least three times, striking 16-year-old Alexon Moya, who was a bystander, in the head. Moya was taken to the hospital and died two days later. Singas said that Ventura was trying to kill the rival of the gang to gang status in MS-13.

Maldonado pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is awaiting sentencing.

Ventura's second murder occurred on Aug. 11, 2017. Carlos Rivas-Majano, 22, told a family member he was on his way home from a deli in Uniondale, but never made it home. Rivas-Majano was another perceived enemy of MS-13. Rivas-Majano was lured into the woods near the Meadowbrook Parkway in Uniondale, where he was hacked and stabbed to death with machetes. His body was found on Aug. 29, 2018.

Four others, in addition to Ventura, were arrested for Rivas-Majano's murder and their cases are pending.

Ventura was arrested on Dec. 18, 2017 by the Nassau County Police Department. As part of his guilty plea, he admitted to being a member of the Downtown Criminals clique of MS-13.