After Brutal Murders of 2 Teen Girls, Guardian Angels To Commence New Patrol

BRENTWOOD, NY — After the brutal murder of two teenage girls in Brentwood, the Guardian Angels are commencing a new patrol to help fight back against violent, gang-related violence in the crime-ravaged community.

According to Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, the Guardian Angels recently attended a candlelight vigil held at the Brentwood High School football field to remember Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 15, who were found dead near Stahley Street and Ray Court in Brentwood on Sept. 13.

According to police, the killings may be gang-related.

Sliwa said he believes the deaths may be linked to the MS-13 gang; per capita, he said, Suffolk County has "as bad a street gang problem as parts of New York City. From Southampton to Hampton Bays to Greenport and Riverhead, Wyandanch, Central Islip, Huntington Station and the powder keg, Brentwood. The Bloods and Crips have grown in strength but surpassing them is MS-13, which is spreading fear and mayhem throughout Suffolk."

And to fight back against the violence, Sliwa is organizing a Brentwood patrol.

The patrol is critical, he said, because "if it turns out that MS-13 killed both these girls then the black gangs, Bloods, Crips, will want to retaliate. And the streets might be littered with bodies from competing drive-bys. The people in Brentwood who have seen this gang activity escalate in the last 10 years know that they may be sitting on a powder keg."

Vonetta J. Hill, who lives in north Bay Shore, reached out to the Guardian Angels for help; her nephew was gunned down in Brentwood at 12:45 a.m. on Labor Day.

Hill would like the Guardian Angels to patrol Central Islip, Sliwa said; she reached out to the Guardian Angels at the Brentwood vigil.

The streets of her community have become deadly, Hill said.

"I had to walk my daughter to church last night," she said. "I won't exercise anymore. I used to do 4 miles around the neighborhood. But I don't want to be scared when I'm exercising."

Hill, who served in the military, said that until her nephew, Marcus Bohannon, 27, was killed, she never worried about "possibly walking and getting shot. He was walking just three blocks from his house."

The Guardian Angels, Hill said, would be a welcome addition. "If there's a presence in the neighborhood and they see people out patrolling and watching what they're doing, maybe that will deter them from doing these crazy things. Those poor girls, being buried. It's savage."

Hill, who works in radio and promotion, said she's trying to institute after-school programs in the community to give kids an alternative to gangs. "A lot of kids don't have homes where they get nurtured. They need adults who will love them. They're getting that love from gangs."

Sliwa said, according to investigators, the recent murders may be related to MS-13.

The deadly gang, Mara Salvatrucha, has tentacles deeply entrenched on Long Island, Sliwa said.

The recent murders, he said, reminded him of a case in Central Islip in 2010, involving Juan Elias Garcia, an MS-13 gang member whose girlfriend had ties to the 18th Street gang, he said. "He sought permission from his higher-ups in MS-13 to have her killed. Permission was granted and he was told to do it himself. He lured her into a wooded area and shot her dead. To avoid arrest he fled to El Salvador. The leader of MS-13 who sanctioned the hit is doing 60 years in jail for the plot," Sliwa said.

According to CBSlocal.com, Garcia was sentenced to life in prison in 2015.

Sliwa listed other MS-13-related attacks, including victims of a machete attack who were walking through a park near Hempstead High School when assaulted.

According to NBCNewYork.com, the incident, which took place in May, involved six attackers, all of whom are believed to be linked to MS-13, police said.

Sliwa also pointed to a triple homicide involving three young adults in June of 2015.

"MS-13, more so that any other gang in the area prefers to give beatdowns and conduct shootings and stabbings in wooded areas," he said.

Guardian Angels meet with new recruits

The Guardian Angels will attend the funerals Wednesday in Bay Shore and Brentwood for both murdered teens.

Then, on Wednesday night, they will meet with new recruits from Brentwood who wish to join and help crack down on gang violence in the area, Sliwa said.

Gang history in Brentwood

Sliwa said of the two gangs, the Bloods and Crips, "the Bloods are the stronger of the two, especially the '5-9 BRIMS Set' of the Bloods. They are the primary suppliers of cocaine along the South Shore, Wyandanch and Brentwood."

According to Sliwa, the code of that sect is, "No snitching, no individualism, no homosexuality." Those gang members, he said, are never to permit a civilian to speak poorly about the UBN, or United Blood Nation, and "never, ever" to write "incriminating letters."

Sliwa said the Brim gang has a "5-9 Brim oath," which reads, "Being Brim ain't no part time thang, it's a primetime thing. It's about being around when it's time to get down, getting down when you're by yourself, getting caught and not telling. Killing and not caring. Dying and not crying. Have love for your set, and hate for your enemy. It's about being loved by a few, hated by many, but respected and feared by all. Banging on anything that oppress Brim."

MS-13 gains strength

The strongest gang, "without a doubt," said Sliwa, "is MS-13, especially their set in Brentwood, called he B.L.S. or Brentwood Locos Salvatruchas. They are particularly vicious because they attack their enemies but they also hurt and kill their own members."

Sliwa recalled an "MS-13 hit put on two brothers from the Brentwood set", after gang members claimed the pair broke MS-13 rules, he said.

According to Sliwa, MS-13 leaders said Enston Ceron was not attending mandatory meetings and wasn't "making up for it" by working for MS-13. "They got concerned that if he were arrested he would rat them out. His brother Ricardo Ceron, who belonged to a different set of MS-13 was considered a risk, because if he found out that the Brentwood clique of MS-13 had killed his brother than he would retaliate. In Dec. of 2011, Arnolvin Umanzor Velasquez a.k.a. 'Lito' and Sergio Cerna a.k.a. 'Taz' were armed with guns. They asked the Ceron brothers for a ride home from a MS-13 party. When the car stopped at Lincoln Avenue and Stockton Street in Brentwood, the MS-13 member executed the two brothers, shooting them in the back of their heads. They then fired shots at a vehicle striking a passing driver as they made their getaway."

According to FBI.gov, in May of 2015, a 29-count superseding indictment was unsealed in federal court in Central Islip, "charging MS-13 members Edwin Acosta-Martinez, 'Scarface.' Sergio Cerna, 'Taz' and 'Lechon', and Arnolvin Umanzor Velasquez, 'Momia' and 'Lito," with the November 2, 2011 murder of Brandon Sotomayor in Baywood, and the December 18, 2011 double-murder of two brothers, Enston and Ricardo Ceron, in Brentwood, as well as four attempted murders which took place between May and December 2011, and multiple racketeering offenses related to those murders and attempted murders. The superseding indictment was returned under seal by a federal grand jury on May 13, 2015."

Sliwa also brought up Carolos Ortega, an MS-13 gang member who settled in Brentwood after entering the United States illegally and recruited right outside a local middle school.

According to FBI.gov, Ortega was sentenced to life in prison in 2013 "following a six-week trial on all counts of the trial indictment, including racketeering, conspiracy, murder, assault with dangerous weapons, and related firearms and conspiracy offenses."

And, said United States Attorney Loretta Lynch, "Ortega committed heinous acts of violence in the name of MS-13, cutting a swath of murder from Brentwood to Far Rockaway, all within the span of a few weeks."

Sliwa added, "He planted the seeds of evil that grow to this day in Brentwood."

Although many who enter the country illegally are deported, the gangs continue to swell and because many "cross the border and come right back to do it again," Sliwa believes.

Gang problems in local communities are deeply rooted, Sliwa said.

"The problem in Brentwood, Central Islip, Bayshore and Wyandanch is that both the Latino and black gangs have had now, in some instances, three generations of gang members from the same family. The grandfather, father and new son. They are rooted into the surrounding public school systems which is where they recruit inside and outside of the campus And now they are spreading along the East End, even into Hampton Bays and Southampton."

Another Brentwood mom, Edeliz Sotomayor, reached out to Sliwa, asking for Guardian Angels to help. "I am hurt and saddened with the brutal deaths of our kids in this three-town community and the recent deaths of two young girls I have coached, mentored, befriended and who were my daughter's friends, too," she wrote.

She added that she was almost positive that a Guardian Angels chapter locally would garner a strong showing of support; she added that she would be eager to help organize a patrol. "Please consider where I can be of use to help bring The Guardian Angels to our rescue for some peace of mind," she wrote.

Reward offered

The Suffolk County Police recently announced that they have increased the reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible for the murders of two Brentwood teens after receiving a donation.

An anonymous donor recently donated $5,000 to Suffolk County Crime Stoppers bringing the reward total to $10,000.

The money is guaranteed to be paid within 48 hours for the first tip that leads to an arrest to the person or persons responsible for the deaths of 15-year-old Nisa Mickens and 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas.

Both girls were found dead near Stahley Street and Ray Court in Brentwood on Sept. 13.

“The Suffolk County Police Department is thankful for the anonymous donation which reflects the resilient partnership between the department, Crime Stoppers and the community,” Suffolk County Commissioner Timothy D. Sini said. “Partnerships such as this are truly fundamental."

Anyone with information is asked to call Suffolk County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS, text “SCPD” and your message to CRIMES (274637) or visit www.tipsubmit.com.

Patch photo courtesy of Guardian Angels.