Six suspected members of a Dominican street gang who were arrested in New Jersey in connection to the brutal murder of a Bronx teen will be extradited back to New York to face charges.
The six men appeared in a New Jersey court on Tuesday where the judge approved their extradition to New York State to face murder charges over the brutal death of 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman-Feliz.
The teenager was dragged out of a Bronx bodega by a group of men on June 20 before he was beaten and stabbed in the neck with a machete.
Guzman-Feliz managed to run to a hospital at the end of the block where he died.
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.
They arrested the six men who faced court on Tuesday. Two other men have also been arrested in New York by the NYPD.
The six men who appeared in court on Tuesday are Jose Muniz, 21, of Paterson; 21-year-old Jose Tavarez, 18-year-old Manuel Rivera, 21-year-old Danel Fernandez and 24-year-old Santiago Rodriguez of the Bronx; and 24-year-old Joniki Martinez of Freeport, New York.
In court on Tuesday, 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.
Another man, 19-year-old Kevin Alvarez, was arrested by the NYPD and has already pleaded not guilty to murder, manslaughter and gang assault. He is seen being led out of a police precinct early Monday morning
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.
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
That transfer could take a few days.
Also on Tuesday, New York officials announced that they had arrested another individual, Elvin Garcia, in the Bronx in connection to Guzman-Feliz’s death – bringing the total number of suspects to eight.
The NYPD already has 19-year-old Kevin Alvarez in custody. The teen 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 U.S.
Video shows a group of men dragging Guzman-Feliz out of the store and onto the street
Several men proceed to beat and slash the teen with knives. He died after running to nearby St. Barnabas hospital
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.
His mother says the gang had been after her son since last year, when he broke up with a girl linked to the gang.
Thousands of people attended Guzman-Feliz’s wake on Monday. A vigil is scheduled for Tuesday, followed by a funeral on Wednesday.
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.
The men mostly stared at the floor on Tuesday as prosecutors laid out the evidence against them. At one point, the judge ordered one of the defendants to look up at him. Jose Tavarez is pictured above during the hearing