The injured teen was seen stumbling inside the bodega before exiting and making a run for the hospital. She said it cut the bone that protects the spinal cord and left an exit wound on the other side of his neck. His English was poor. Todays verdict fortifies the Bronx communitys stand against violence., Lesandros mother, Leandra Feliz said, Im not going to have my son back, but those killers, those murderers, theyre not going to be outside killing another kid.. The officer said Juniors clothes had to be repackaged the day after they were vouchered into evidence as the blood was soaking through the paper bags they had been stored in. (Obtained by New York Daily News ). They also face manslaughter, conspiracy, gang assault and weapons charges. But Mr. Alvarez testified that Lesandro clearly told the gang he wasnt Sunset. Police officials also have said Lesandro did not belong to a gang. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. They pursued him in cars, mistaking the aspiring NYPD detective for a gangbanger because he supposedly resembled a known one. Erica Byfield reports. Video showed the boy being dragged outside the bodega and set upon by a gang of men who hacked at him as he struggled to defend himself. Add AI Research And Catching Up With Your Law School Buds To The Career Growth List -- See Also, Reach out just to catch up. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. Knitting, perhaps, Some things we just dont share with the class, Kamala Harris Has Been Busy Breaking Judiciary Ties, DOJ Makes Radical Argument That Inciting Violence Is *Not* Within The Scope Of The President's Job, Working To Incorporate Legal Technology Into Your Practice Isn't Just A Great Business Move -- It's Required, Add Ai Research And Catching Up With Your Law School Buds To The Career Growth List See Also, Thomson Reuters Practical Law The Journal: Transactions & Business, The State Of Todays Corporate Law Departments, MyCase Continues To Simplify Law Firm Accounting, Right Where You Manage Your Practice, Meet LINK: The Easy Way To Handle All Your Document Workflows On Your Mobile Device In A Single App, Four Tips For Solo Attorneys To Build Their Marketing And Media Relations Skills, First Impressions Are Worth Millions For Summers. Following that, no amount of logic, analysis, or pleas for reason could convince jurors to set aside their emotions. Oiwaka said Juniors clothes had to be repackaged the day after they were vouchered into evidence as the blood was soaking through the paper bags they had been stored in. Surveillance video shows Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz being dragged out and then hacked to death by five men with machetes on June 20, 2018, in the Bronx. Kevin Alvarez, third from left, and Elvin Garcia, both members of the Trinitarios gang, appearing before a judge in 2018. JOLIET, Ill. (AP) A Chicago-area toddler was hospitalized in critical condition Tuesday after finding an unsecured gun and shooting himself in the head, police said. (Obtained by NY Daily News). Martin Goldberg, defense attorney for Jose Muniz who once cried in court during his arraignment said his client was made the poster boy for Juniors horrific death, because Muniz was seen carrying a machete. Members of the Trinitarios gang were hunting for enemies in the Bronx last summer when they found a 15-year-old boy on his phone and walking alone. At the moment I saw his face, my eyes changed. The murder was just as horrific. Join Nancy Grace and a team of world-class experts for the online course Justice Nation: Crime Stops Here. Members of Los Sures took orders from a leader named Diego Suero, whom they called Santa Claus.. Reyes, a member of the Bad Boys one of two Trinitarios subsets said gangbangers were gathered outside Sueros apartment, just one block from the slay-scene bodega at East 183rd Street and Bathgate Avenue, when they were instructed to hunt down members of the rival Sunset crew for recently shooting a Bad Boy member. Then he starts running to St. Barnabas Hospital, just one block away. Nils Gerber and Stephen Ball, Stacks' attorneys, presented evidence and rested their case after about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. Sabathia. A post shared by Robert Williams (@areumdawo_saja), Jury Finds All Five Defendants Guilty Of Murdering Bronx Teen Junior Guzman-Feliz, New Owners Of Bodega Where Junior Was Killed Want To Rename Store After Slain Teen, Bronx Street Renamed To Honor Slain Teen Junior, Bronx Bodega Where Teen Junior Was Attacked Reopens Temporarily, Legendary Jazz Saxophonist Wayne Shorter Has Died, White Student At Howard University Law School Sues for $2 Million Over Racial Discrimination, R. Kelly Sentenced to 20 Years For Child Sex Crimes, Family of Malcolm X Files $100 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against NYPD & Others. The knife made it from the right side to the left, hit the muscle, hit the (jugular) vein, went behind the throat, hit the tissue on the back side of the mouth, Dr. Rodriguez said. Witnesses say these two police officers stood by watching the scene. Surveillance footage from June shows a street chase by suspected members of the Trinitarios gang, as they hunted down 15-year-old Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz. [Featured Image: Lesandro Junior Guzman-Feliz/Facebook], 6-Year-Old Girl, 2 Adults Critically Wounded by Gunmen Looking for the Little Girls Father, Juror: Alex Murdaugh Convinces Himself of His Own Lies, Detroit Man Charged With Killing Friends Tot Daughter, Lesandro Guzman-Feliz valiantly avoided multiple attempted stabbings. All 14 suspects are reportedly members of the Sures set of the Trinitarios gang. Just 20 minutes later, Junior is pronounced dead as a result of a stab wound to the neck. A group of gang members armed with machetes and knives. Anyone can read what you share. We want to know your views on law firm policies and culture. Yesterday lawyers for four of the suspects accused of stabbing 15-year-old . Mr. Alvarez testified for the prosecution in return for a lenient sentence. Several of the gang members got out of the cars and surrounded Lesandro, asking him questions. Recommended Stories Deadline. Stuck Drafting A Tough Brief? Fellow defendant Jose Muniz was heard saying "Trinitarios to the day I die" as he left the courtroom following the guilty verdicts. Hes been charged with these crimes. On the night of Juniors murder, Trinitarios were driving around looking for Sunset members when they spotted the 15-year-old walking. The footage went viral and with it, rumor and speculation about why the 15-year-old boy known as Junior was singled out. Bronx gangbangers were given the order to inflict any kind of damage they could on rivals just three days before the murder of innocent teen Lesandro Junior Guzman-Feliz, according to court testimony Friday. This Tool Can Help. We've received your submission. This 15-year-old boy, in the moments before his death, fought and fought like hell, Dolan said, according to the New York Daily News. Prosecutors say that Jonaiki Martinez gave the fatal stab, slashing Juniors neck. A string of shootings across Chicago Wednesday left at least 10 people shot, and, according to police, at least half of those who suffered gunshot wounds were under the age of 16. The blood-soaked clothes worn by slain Bronx teen Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz as he was hacked at by a machete-wielding mob were displayed to jurors at the boy's murder trial Thursday,. An order had come from Mr. Suero, he said: Go after Sunset you already know what you have to do., Mr. Reyes said he understood that to be an order to do any kind of damage. No one, not prosecutors or police, wanted to admit, that Junior had gang connections. He only said that one word -- "water," she testified. Guzman-Feliz's death sparked outrage in the Bronx and beyond and spurred the allocation of $18 million toward gang prevention in the borough. If they did not participate, the lawyers said, they would have been disciplined. The jury, comprised of 11 women and one man, reached the verdict Friday after going into deliberations Thursday. However, police have said the teens murder was a case of mistaken identity. At the foot of the location I noticed a lot of blood, and people frantically screaming," Officer Oiwaka said about arriving at the entrance to St. Barnabas Hospital in Belmont, where Junior bleeding profusely from his wounds had collapsed in a frantic attempt to get help. ", Junior came to symbolize all of the young people who have lost their lives to brutal gang violence, said Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark. Of those 38, five were under the age of 10. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. We dont know. Junior rushes into this bodega just one block from his home. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Guzman-Feliz for a rival when they stabbed him to death, Last defendant convicted in 2018 killing of Bronx teen Lesandro Junior Guzman-Feliz, 5 gang members plead guilty to killing of Bronx teen, 16 members of violent Trinitarios gang charged with high-end NYC robberies in sweeping indictment, Two gang leaders convicted in murder of Junior Guzman-Feliz, Trinitarios were driving around looking for Sunset members, Juniors mom at one point screaming and sobbing in court. The defense will have a chance Monday to call witnesses to the stand if they chose. New Yorkers flooded investigators with tips. The teen wanted to be a police. It made the tragedy of his killing that much worse and convictions that much more guaranteed. But it was Mr. Martinez Estrella who delivered the fatal blow when he shoved a large knife into the side of Lesandros neck, penetrating 4.5 inches and cutting his jugular vein, a medical examiner testified. A dozen people appeared in court facing charges related to the death of 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, who was killed in the Bronx. Its like my son was right here with me., (L-R) Leandra Feliz and Lesandro Guzman, the mother and father of Lesandro (Junior) Guzman-Feliz, leave Bronx Supreme Court after the arraignments of 12 alleged Trinitarios gang members in July 2018. Alvarez, who testified last week as a cooperating witness, pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in a deal with Bronx prosecutors and is expected to serve no prison time. MORE: Justice for Junior Special: More than a Murder They're not gonna forget it. It was Mr. Suero who had sent them out on June 20, 2018, armed with machetes and knives, to search for members of Sunset to attack, the two cooperating witnesses said. Community member Elizabeth De Jesus likened the photo to a horror movie.