Police ID 13 Gang Members Charged In Seven Brentwood Murders

MS-13 gang members were seeking revenge against one of the teenage girls who were killed with baseball bats and a machete in September after the teen was involved in an altercation with gang members at Brentwood High School, federal prosecutors said.

A total of 13 gang members were charged in a 41-count indictment in connection to seven murders in Brentwood, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of New York announced Thursday.

Four of those members of the MS-13 gang were arrested earlier Thursday morning and will be arraigned this afternoon before U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Bianco at the federal courthouse in Central Islip.

MS-13 leaders 22-year-old Alexi Saenz of Central Islip, 19-year-old Jairo Saenz of Central Islip, 19-year-old Selvin Chavez of Brentwood and 19-year-old Enrique Portillo, of Brentwood were all arrested in connection with the murders of Brentwood High School students Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16.

In the months leading up to the murders of the two girls, Cuevas was involved in a series of disputes with members and associates of the MS-13.

One week before the murders, these disputes escalated when Cuevas and several friends were involved in an altercation with MS-13 members at Brentwood High School. After that incident, the MS-13 members vowed to seek revenge against Cuevas, prosecutors said.

On Sept. 13, Chavez, Alexi, Jairo, Portillo and other members of the Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside (Sailors) clique of the MS-13 agreed to hunt for rival gang members to kill, and they separated into different cars and drove around Brentwood looking for targets, according to prosecutors.

Chavez, Portillo and two other juvenile MS-13 members, who were riding together in one car, saw Cuevas and Mickens walking down Stahley Street, prosecutors said.

They recognized Cuevas and called Alexi and Jairo, the leaders of the Sailors clique, who authorized them to kill the two girls, prosecutors said.

Chavez, the driver, then pulled up close to the girls, then Portillo and the other MS-13 members jumped out of the car and attacked them with baseball bats and a machete, striking the girls numerous times in the head and body, prosecutors said.

In addition to the four members, the two juveniles were charged with the girls' murders, authorities said. Those cases remain under seal at this time.

“The brutal murders of Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas, and the savage killing of Jose Pena, allegedly committed by these defendants, exemplify the depravity of a gang whose primary mission is murder,” United States Attorney Robert Capers said.

“The day Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas were heinously murdered, the Suffolk County Police Department made a commitment to their families and to the residents of Brentwood that justice would be served," Suffolk Police Commissioner Tim Sini said. "September 13, 2016 was a dark day for all of us, but for Nisa's and Kayla’s loved ones it was an unspeakable nightmare. I have personally witnessed their shared trauma and grief as it reverberated through the Brentwood community. Although we are keenly aware that nothing will ever undo the heartbreaking loss of Nisa and Kayla, we can take solace in the fact that their savage murderers will be held accountable."

Gang members 19-year-old Elmer Alexander Lopez, of Central Islip, and 18-year-old German Cruz, of Brentwood, also known as “Bad Boy,” as well as two other people who are still fugitives, were charged with the murder of Jose Pena, who also attended Brentwood High School and was killed on last June but whose remains were not recovered until October, prosecutors said.

Lopez, who was previously charged with two attempted murders, Cruz and two other defendants decided to kill Pena because he was suspected of violating gang rules, prosecutors said.

Prior to the murder, Lopez, Cruz and other members of the Freeport Locos Salvatruchas (FLS) clique of the MS-13 held meetings where they discussed punishing Pena for the rules violations, prosecutors said.

After consulting with gang leadership in El Salvador, the FLS members agreed to murder Pena by luring him into a car that was provided by Cruz and driving him to a secluded wooded area in Brentwood, where they attacked him, taking turns stabbing and slashing him with knives, authorities said.

Another juvenile was charged with Pena's murder, but his case remains sealed, prosecutors said.

Hernandez was also charged in connection with the assaults of a man and woman that occurred on an athletic field located near the Brentwood East Elementary and Brentwood East Middle Schools in October, prosecutors said.

The two victims were there with a group when Hernandez and other members of the MS-13 approached and attacked them, authorities said.

The group ran away, except for the victims who were caught, knocked to the ground and struck repeatedly with baseball bats and pipes, prosecutors said. The man suffered a broken hand and deep lacerations to the face, and the woman suffered severe pain throughout her body, prosecutors said.

In addition, MS-13 members 19-year-old Edwin Amaya-Sanchez, of Central Islip, 20-year-old William Castellanos, of Central Islip, 23-year-old Jhonny Contreras, of Brentwood, 24-year-old Reynaldo Lopez-Alvarado of Brentwood and Lopez were all charged with four murders, authorities said.

These murders included the May 26 and 28, 2013, murders of Derrick Mayes and Keenan Russell, the July 14, 2014, murder of Jose Lainez-Murcia, the June 30, 2015, murder of Jonathan Cardona-Hernandez, three attempted murders, as well as related firearms, accessory after the fact, obstruction of justice and arson offenses, authorities said.

If convicted, all of the men face up to life in prison or the death penalty, other than Cruz, who faces up to 10 years in prison, and Hernandez, who faces up to 20 years on each of the assault counts and an additional five years for the conspiracy to distribute marijuana, authorities said.

During the execution of a search warrant at the home of Alexi and Jairo, on Thursday morning, investigators recovered an arsenal of weapons, including a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, numerous rounds of ammunition, including additional 9 mm, .38-caliber, .357-caliber, and other assorted rounds, machetes, a sword, a hatchet and knives, according to prosecutors.

Further, investigators recovered a quantity of marijuana packaged for resale, ledgers and MS-13 paraphernalia, authorities said.

According to authorities, the MS-13 members sold marijuana and used that money to purchase firearms and ammunition, as well as to send money to MS-13 leaders in El Salvador.

The MS-13 gang, one of the most notorious street gangs in the Western Hemisphere, was formed in the 1980s in Los Angeles but now extends from Central American nations like El Salvador through Mexico, the United States and Canada, according to Insightcrime.org.

Since 2003, hundreds of gang members and leaders have been convicted on federal felony charges including murder, attempted murder and assault in the Eastern District of New York, authorities said.

Since 2010, the Eastern District has indicted members with carrying out more than 35 murders in the district and has convicted dozens of leaders and members in connection to those murders, authorities said.