MS-13 Member Charged In 2016 Greenlawn Killing: Suffolk DA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — A third MS-13 gang member was charged in connection with the killing of a Greenlawn teenager in August 2016, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini announced Friday.

Carlos Lopez Campos, 26, of Owings Mills, Maryland, was charged with second-degree murder in the death 18-year-old Estiven Abrego-Gomez.

"This victim — like many other victims of MS-13 — was brutally murdered over a mere perceived rivalry," Sini said in a statement. "Even after the apprehension of two of Abrego-Gomez’s alleged murderers last year, law enforcement did not stop investigating and collecting intelligence on MS-13, which led to this latest arrest."

At approximately 7:11 a.m. Aug. 20, 2016, a man was walking near Greenlawn Park at the intersection of Pulaski Road and Broadway when he found the body of Abrego-Gomez, officials said. Abrego-Gomez had significant lacerations on his body and his hands had nearly been cut off, the district attorney said.

Abrego-Gomez’s cause of death was determined to be sharp force injuries and blunt force trauma, the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office said.

Lopez-Campos was taken into custody in Maryland on Oct. 19 before being extradited to New York. He was arraigned Thursday and remanded without bail. He is due back in court Dec. 7.

Elmer Gilberto Santos Contreras, 25, of Roosevelt, and Anthony Gutierrez-Meza, 23, of Valley Stream, were also charged in connection with the killing, authorities said.

The gang members killed Abrego-Gomez because they believed he was a member of the 18th Street gang, a rival of MS-13, Sini said.

"The Suffolk County Police Department is committed to bringing to justice those responsible for Estiven Abrego-Gomez’s death, and this latest arrest signifies those efforts," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said. "Our continued commitment to dismantle MS-13 from the streets of Suffolk County has not wavered, and we commend the DA’s Office, SCPD Homicide Squad, and all our law enforcement partners for their hard work and dedication on this case."

Said Sini, "When my Office brought the largest takedown of MS-13 gang members in our nation’s history in December of last year, we decimated the gang’s foothold here on Long Island, but community members can rest assured that we did not and will not stop our investigation and prosecution of this dangerous gang."

If convicted, Campos faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

Contreras’ case is pending and Gutierrez-Meza is being held in Virginia on unrelated charges.