MS-13 Member Gets 24 Years To Life For 2 Gang-Related Murders: DA

MINEOLA, NY — A MS-13 member was sentenced on Tuesday to 24 years to life in prison for plotting and participating in two gang-related murders in 2016 and 2017, Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith announced.

Kevin Lopez-Morales, 23, of Roosevelt, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder on Sept. 9, 2019.

"Kevin Lopez-Morales and his co-defendants acted as friends to two young men but lured them to their deaths over perceived slights to MS-13," Smith said. "MS-13 has left behind many grieving families on Long Island, but their attempts to destroy our community have not and will not be successful.

On Sept. 4, 2016, Lopez-Morales, acting with others, struck Josue Amaya Leonor with a machete multiple times, killing him. according to the acting district attorney. They buried Leonor’s body, which was recovered in May 2018, in a wooded area of the Roosevelt Preserve. Leonor was 19 years old.

A year later, Lopez-Morales, acting with others, murdered 15-year old Angel Soler on July 21, 2017, the D.A.'s office said.

Soler's body was mutilated – bearing injuries consistent with the use of a machete – and he suffered blunt force trauma to the head. Soler remains were discovered under cement on Oct. 19, 2017, in a remote wooded area in Roosevelt, just south of the Southern State Parkway, the release stated.

Both victims were believed to be killed because they were perceived to be enemies of MS-13, according to the district attorney.

The Nassau County District Attorney said the case was a joint effort from Nassau police, Homeland Security Investigations and Drug Enforcement Administration.