Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz continues to get closer and closer to receiving the justice he deserves after being gruesomely stabbed to death outside of a Bronx, New York, bodega in June 2018. He was only 15 years old when street camera footage captured the frightened teen being chased into a Bathgate Avenue bodega. As he begged for help, he was dragged out by a group of men and stabbed to death with a machete. He had no prior contact with his assailants.
The horrific event quickly took over social media and #JusticeForJunior not only became a viral hashtag, but a call to action.
14 members of the Triniario gang were charged.
As Blavity previously reported, the initial trial for the 15-year-old’s senseless murder took place in 2019. Jonaiki Martinez Estrella, Manuel Rivera, Elvin Garcia, Jose Muniz and Antonio Rodriguez Hernandez Santiago were the first to appear in court. The gang members were convicted of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, second-degree gang assault and conspiracy. Estrella was sentenced to life in prison; Santiago, Muniz and Garcia received a sentence of 25 to life; and Rivera received a sentence of 23 to life, according to ABC 7 NY.
During the trial, it was revealed that Guzman-Feliz was not the intended target. He was mistaken for a rival gang member.
The trial gained national attention, as the men were seen as cold and emotionless during proceedings — especially Jose Muniz, 23. Muniz was identified in the video as one of the men who struck Guzman-Feliz with a machete during the attack. His horrid actions gained him the moniker “Machete Man.”
After learning his fate, Muniz shouted out in court, “Popote, hasta la muerte!” — Spanish slang for “Trinitarios until death,” Pix 11 reports.
In September 2022, two more gang members were brought to justice.
NBC News New York reports that Diego Suero and Frederick Then were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Suero, the leader of the “Los Sures” set of the gang, was the individual that gave the order that led to the teen’s death. On June 20, 2018, he gave orders to go out and kill members of their rival set, “Sunset.”
Then, who was second in command, was at the scene making sure the order was carried out.
Now, almost four years after Guzman-Feliz’s murder, five more members of the “Los Sures” set have come clean about their participation.
According to NBC New York, the men pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and face up to 15 years in prison.
The guilty pleas were part of a deal with Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, who had been instrumental in the previous trial convictions.
One of the men charged, Jose Tavarez, was the first of the five to plead guilty when he did so in mid-November.
Two weeks later, Ronald Urena, Luis Cabrera Santos, Gabriel Ramirez Concepcion and Danilo Payamps Pacheco entered the same plea.
Pix 11 reports that Pacheco will avoid a murder trial that could result in a sentence of 25 years to life.
The gang members will all face 12- to 15-year sentences based on the part they played in the murder.
A sixth defendant, Daniel Fernandez, refused to take a deal, Pix 11 reports.
He has been identified as the person who dragged the teenager out of the bodega.
The deal would have handed Fernandez an 18-year sentence.
Because of his refusal, his murder trial will begin in January 2023.
