An eighth person has been arrested for the death of a 15-year-old Bronx teenager who was brutally dragged out of a bodega and sliced to death with a machete in a harrowing case of mistaken identity which has shocked New York City and caused uproar in the streets where the victim lived.
Lesandro ‘Junior’ Guzman-Feliz was murdered on June 20. Surveillance footage showed the aspiring police officer being pulled screaming out of a bodega and slashed with the machete in the street. He got himself to a hospital nearby but died shortly afterwards.
Seven men, all of whom are said to be members of the Dominican street gang Trintarios, were arrested on Sunday and Monday and charged with his death. They are Jose Muniz, 21, Jose Taverez, 21, Manuel Rivera, 18, Danel Fernandez, 21, Joniki Martinez, 24,Santiago Rodriguez, 24, and Kevin Alvarez, 19.
Six of the men were arrested in New Jersey and are awaiting extradition to the Bronx where they will face murder charges on Wednesday.
On Tuesday night, 23-year-old Elvin Garcia from the Bronx became the eighth person to be arrested. His arrest was announced on the steps of the 48th precinct.
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Lesandro Guzman-Feliz (pictured), a 15-year-old aspiring NYPD cop, was beaten and stabbed to death outside of a Bronx bodega last week in what the police say was a case of mistaken identity. On Tuedsday, Elvin Garcia (right) became the eighth person arrested for his death
Hundreds of mourners outside the Bronx bodega on Tuesday night where Lesandro ‘Junior’ Guzman-Feliz was murdered on June 20. It was the second day of a well-attended wake for the teenager
There is a sea of candles outside the bodega which remains closed as the police continue with their investigation
Men carry portraits of the teenager as mourners entered the second day of a wake for him on Tuesday
Among the mourners were young women and girls who wept and consoled each other as they remembered the teen
A group of men hold up t-shirts with Lesandro’s photograph on the front and pose for a photograph at the second day of a wake for him in the Bronx on Tuesday
‘Literally as we speak, we’ve just, in this building, made an eighth arrest regarding this incident. That person will be prosecuted for murder,’ NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermont Shea told Pix 11 at the time. He kept his head down as he was taken from the precinct to court in a plaid shirt.
Prosecutors allege the men went after Lesandro after mistaking him for a rival gang member who had been filmed having sex with one of the Trintarios’ girlfriends on Snapchat.
As Garcia was arrested on Tuesday, hundreds descended on the bodega where the attack happened to demand ‘justice for Junior’.
The mourners wept and lit candles in tribute to the teenager who will be buried on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, during their joint appearance in a New Jersey court, six of the defendants complained that their families were being threatened.
Lisandro Guzman, the teenager’s father (center) is pictured leaving the funeral home for lunch on Tuesday as the vigil went into its second day
‘Social media has been very active about this case.
Lisandro had his son’s face tattooed onto his hand in a tribute to him after his brutal death
‘Their families are being threatened, children,’ public defender Judith Fallon said, according to The New York Post which attended the hearing.
New Jersey authorities raided a Paterson home on Sunday known to be a hangout for members of the Trintarios street gang, which was believed to have been connected to the teenager’s death.
In court, the men mostly stared at the floor as prosecutors laid out the evidence against them. At one point, the judge ordered one of the defendants to look up at him.
Only one of the suspects could speak without the aid of a Spanish translator.
All six waived their right to a hearing, so the judge approved their extradition to New York State.
After the hearing, the men were taken back to Passaic County Jail, where they will be held until New York officials pick them up.
Bronx District Attorney, Darcel Clark, said at a press conference on Tuesday that the six suspects that will be extradited back will be arraigned on Wednesday and face charges of murder, manslaughter, gang assault and assault.
Among those who turned out were the Thunder Bay Guardian Angels, a group of patrol safety volunteers who work around the city
Mourners hold hands and stand in circles to pay tribute to Lesandro on Tuesday afternoon
Young NYPD cadets known as Explorers stand in a line at the second day of the wake for Lesandro on Tuesday. He was part of the youth group and wanted to become an NYPD officer
Kevin Alvarez, 19, was arrested by the NYPD on Monday. He has pleaded not guilty to murder, manslaughter and gang assault. He is seen being led out of a police precinct early Monday morning
The attack was caught on surveillance footage and showed gang members going into the bodega and dragging Lesandro out as he screamed for help
In a savage attack in the street, the men used machetes to slash the teenager’s body then left him for dead. He was able to run to a hospital nearby but he died afterwards
Kevin Alvarez appeared in court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, including murder, manslaughter and gang assault.
Another person was picked up in the Dominican Republic, but is cooperating with authorities and has not been charged.
Police believe that Guzman-Feliz was targeted in a case of mistaken identity.
The teen was mistaken for a man seen having sex with one of the gang members’ cousins in a Snapchat video, CBS reports.
An alleged gang member is said to have reached out to the victim’s family on Snapchat to apologize over Guzman-Feliz’s murder, a relative said.
The Trintarios gang has developed a negative reputation for violence in the US.
Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said during Tuesday’s press conference in New York that authorities ‘will not tolerate thugs on the street of the Bronx, whether it’s Trinitarios or any other gang.
‘The brutal nature of this crime, we will literally leave no stone unturned until we make sure that we will get justice, that we make sure that everyone involved in this incident are brought to justice.’
On Tuesday night, mourners maintained their vigil with more candles and flower tributes. The crime has shocked the city and placed a renewed emphasis on gang warfare
Youngsters sobbed for Lesandro on Tuesday during the second day of his wake. The gang allegedly responsible for his killing has also been blamed for the brutal beating of a second teenager
In Paterson alone, the gang has been blamed for at least two violent incidents in the last three years.
Last year, the gang allegedly started fights that led cops to shut down the city’s Dominican festival early. In 2015, gang members were accused of stabbing and breaking bottles over a man they thought was a member of a rival group.
The NYPD also released footage on Tuesday, showing a group of suspected gang members stabbing a 14-year-old in the median of the Bronx River Parkway earlier this month.
That victim survived the incident, but remains in the hospital in critical condition after losing a kidney.
Mayor Bill de Blasio was yelled at by mourners as he visited the teenager’s family at the funeral home where his body is being held on Tuesday after being criticized by the teenager’s mother for not contacting her for days
Lesandro’s mother and father (center) held signs up outside the funeral home calling for justice on Monday
His mother says the gang had been after her son since last y ear, when he broke up with a girl linked to the gang.
A crowd at Monday’s wake outside of R.G. Ortiz Funeral Home chanted ‘Justice for Junior’ and ‘Close the Bodega Down’ as others held a candle lit vigil outside the crime scene.
‘I want to say thank you to everyone. The police are doing a great job with the arrests and I hope that they continue to go to the end and find all of the people who were involved,’ his mother told the crowd.
Guzman-Feliz’s family has called on members of their community to boycott the bodega where the attack took place. They believe the owners could have intervened.
The bodega has remained closed since the attack last week.
A GoFundMe campaign set up to raise money for the teen’s funeral had raised more than $256,000 by Tuesday afternoon.
Bronx-born rapper Cardi B also made a donation of $8,000 under her given name Belcalis Almanzar.
The singer took to her Instagram page over the weekend to express anger over the senseless killing, writing in part: ‘R.I.P. These Bronx streets are ruthless.’