Nassau MS-13 Gang Members Get Prison In Mistaken Identity Killing

MINEOLA, NY — Two MS-13 gang members have been sentenced to 50 years-to-life in prison after they were convicted of murdering an auto body worker who they mistakenly thought was a rival street gang member.

A jury in August convicted Carlos Flores, 26, of Hempstead and Pedro Rivera, 25, who is homeless, of charges including murder, conspiracy and criminal possession of a weapon. The duo was sentenced Tuesday. A case against a Hector Lazo in the slaying remains pending, prosecutors said.

In March 2017, Flores, Rivera and others drove from Hempstead to Uniondale with plans to kill a member of the 14th Street gang in retaliation for an attack on a fellow MS-13 member, prosecutors said. The group circled the area several times before finding 39-year-old Nelson Rodriguez, an auto body worker from Hempstead.

Rodriguez was on Front Street walking home from his job when Flores ordered Rivera to open fire on him. Rodriguez was not a member of the 14th Street gang.

Rivera got out of the vehicle, walked past Rodriguez, then turned around and shot him once in the head. Rodriguez he fell to the ground and Rivera shot him again in the back, prosecutors said. Rodriguez later died at a hospital.

Police arrested Rivera in July 2017 and then arrested Flores in October 2018.