Current:Home > MyMS-13 leader pleads guilty in case involving 8 murders, including deaths of 2 girls on Long Island -Finovate
MS-13 leader pleads guilty in case involving 8 murders, including deaths of 2 girls on Long Island
View
Date:2025-04-12 21:14:56
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — A leader of an MS-13 gang clique in New York pleaded guilty Wednesday to racketeering and firearms charges in a case involving eight murders, including the 2016 killings of two high school girls who were hacked and beaten to death as they strolled through their leafy, suburban neighborhood on Long Island.
Alexi Saenz entered the plea Wednesday in federal court in Central Islip. Prosecutors previously withdrew an attempt to seek the death penalty in his case.
Among the deaths he was accused of ordering are the killings of Kayla Cuevas, 16, and Nisa Mickens, 15, lifelong friends and classmates at Brentwood High School who were killed with a machete and a baseball bat.
The deaths of the high school students focused the nation’s attention on MS-13 gang violence during the administration of President Donald Trump.
The Republican called for the death penalty for Saenz and others arrested in the killings and blamed the violence and gang growth on lax immigration policies as he made several visits to Long Island. Cuevas’ mother Evelyn Rodriguez was a guest at Trump’s 2018 State of the Union address.
The girls’ deaths led to questions about whether police had been aggressive enough in confronting what was then a serious threat of gangs developing inside area high schools.
For months in 2016, Hispanic children and young men had been disappearing in Brentwood, a working class community 40 miles (64.37 kilometers) east of New York City. After Cuevas and Mickens were killed, police discovered the bodies of three other young people in Brentwood, ages 15, 18 and 19, who had vanished months earlier.
Police and federal agents arrested dozens of suspected members of MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, a transnational criminal organization believed to have been founded as a neighborhood street gang in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s by people fleeing civil war in El Salvador.
Cuevas’ mother, Rodriguez, became an anti-gang activist after her daughter’s death but was herself killed in 2018. Rodriguez was fatally struck by a car during a dispute over a memorial marking the second anniversary of her daughter’s death. The driver, Annmarie Drago, pleaded guilty in 2024 to negligent homicide.
Saenz’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Saenz, also known as “Blasty” and “Big Homie,” was the leader of an MS-13 clique operating in Brentwood and Central Islip known as Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside. Charges are still pending against his brother, Jairo Saenz, who prosecutors say was second-in-command in the local gang.
___
Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.
veryGood! (484)
Related
- Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
- 4 found dead near North Carolina homeless camp; 3 shot before shooter killed self, police say
- Tens of thousands march in London calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza
- Bradley Cooper says his fascination with Leonard Bernstein, focus of new film Maestro, traces back to cartoons
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- A high school girls basketball team won 95-0. Winning coach says it could've been worse
- Ex-Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao asks judge to let him leave U.S. before sentencing for money laundering
- Sean Diddy Combs Faces Second and Third Sexual Assault Lawsuits
- Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
- This week on Sunday Morning (November 26)
Ranking
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- These Secrets About the Twilight Franchise Will Be Your Life Now
- Alex Smith roasts Tom Brady's mediocrity comment: He played in 'biggest cupcake division'
- Supporting nonprofits on GivingTuesday this year could have a bigger impact than usual
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Turned down for a loan, business owners look to family and even crowdsourcing to get money to grow
- Michigan-Ohio State: Wolverines outlast Buckeyes for third win in a row against rivals
- Honda recalls select Accords and HR-Vs over missing piece in seat belt pretensioners
Recommendation
A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
Black Women Face Disproportionate Risks From Largely Unregulated Toxic Substances in Beauty and Personal Care Products
U.S. talks to India about reported link to assassination plot against Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun
Missing dog rescued by hikers in Colorado mountains reunited with owner after 2 months
McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
Goal of the year? Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho with insane bicycle kick
Why Finland is blaming Russia for a sudden influx of migrants on its eastern border
John Travolta Shares Sweet Tribute to Son Benjamin for His 13th Birthday