MS-13 Gang Members Behind Massapequa Preserve Murder: Report

MASSAPEQUA, NY - Two MS-13 gang members were recently arrested in connection to the murder of 19-year-old Julio Cesar Gonzales-Espantzay who was found dead in the Massapequa Preserve in April, according to Nassau Police.

Carlos Portillo, 22, Hempstead, was arrested on Saturday, July 29 and Kevin Granados-Coreas, 19, of Rosedale, on Tuesday, Aug. 15 in connection to the homicide, police said.

Both are being charged with second degree murder.

Portillo was arraigned on Sunday, July 30 and Granados-Coreas was scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.

Gonzales-Espantzay was found dead in a wooded area of the Massapequa Preserve near Seaview and Ocean Avenues by a local resident who was walking his dog on April 4.

The duo killed Gonzales-Espantzay in order to “move up in stature" in the MS-13 gang and might have also murdered up to two other people, although they have not been connected to any other murders so far, according to a report in Newsday.

“Kevin Granados befriended our victim in late 2016, around the holidays,” Det. Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick told Newsday. “On January 28, he lured him into a vehicle with others, with the promise of marijuana and sexual favors. They then subsequently took him to the Massapequa Preserve, where they brutally attacked him with large knives and machetes and subsequently killed him there.”

Recently, officials announced that over 20 surveillance cameras will be installed within the Massapequa Preserve following the homicide and several cases of indecent exposure in the area.

Pictured: From L to R - Kevin Granados-Coreas and Carlos Portillo

Photo: NCPD