Six more men have been arrested in connection to the fatal stabbing of a teen outside a New York City corner store last week.
Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, 15, was beaten and stabbed to death by a gang of men outside a Bronx bodega last Wednesday, in what police are saying is a case of mistaken identity related to a sex tape.
On Monday, New York authorities said they had arrested 19-year-old Kevin Alvarez for murder, gang assault and manslaughter.
Hours later, New Jersey officials said they had arrested six more young men, and that they would appear in front of a judge on Tuesday to be expedited to New York State to face charges in the teen’s death.
Those men include 21-year-old Jose Muniz of Paterson, New Jersey; 21-year-old Jose Taverez, 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.
Local authorities arrested the six men after raiding a local home known as a hangout spot for the Dominican gang suspected in the murder.
One of the suspects jumped out of a window and had to be chased down, authorities said.
An eighth person was arrested in the Dominican Republican is cooperating with investigators. No charges have been filed against that suspect.
Meanwhile, new video footage has emerged from inside the bodega where the victim was cornered, before being dragged outside and stabbed to death.
The video, which appears to have been recorded on the corner store’s surveillance cameras, shows Guzman-Feliz struggling on the ground as two men force him out of the store.
A separate video shows the teen being attacked outside the store. After the attack, Guzman-Feliz fled to the hospital just a block down the street, but was pronounced dead at the medical center’s entrance.
New video has surfaced showing the moment that 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman- Feliz was dragged out of a Bronx bodega last week before being beaten and stabbed to death by a group of men associated with a Dominican gang
The New York Police Department released a statement on the arrests Sunday night.
‘The Department has identified multiple suspects and is in the process of interviewing some of them at this time. Initial arrests have been made, and more are anticipated,’ the statement said in part.
‘The NYPD thanks the public for the outpouring of tips in this case, and encourages people to continue to come forward if they have information to share. Additional information will be released as it becomes available and confirmed.’
Guzman-Feliz (pictured) tried to walk to the hospital for treatment, which was just a block away, but was pronounced dead at the entrance to the medical center
The frenzied attack took place outside Zesarina Grocery located on East 183rd Street in the Belmont section.
Police said the killing was ‘a case of mistaken identity over a sex tape’ as Guzman-Feliz became involved in a dispute that turned fatal with the group of men.
CCTV video posted by Facebook user Riichy Rich Friday shows the pack of men forcibly dragging Guzman-Feliz by the hood of his jacket out of the bodega and frantically stabbing and slashing him with a machete before fleeing on foot.
After a few seconds, Guzman-Feliz was seen standing on the street corner with blood pouring from a wound in his neck.
He then was seen running across the street, heading towards the nearby St Barnabas Hospital.
According to police, the mortally wounded boy never reached the hospital and collapsed a block away.
Surveillance video shows a group of suspects dragging Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, 15, out of a bodega in The Bronx on Wednesday night
The men pulled out knives and machetes and proceeded to stab and slash the teenager
The men are seen in the footage repeatedly knifing Guzman-Feliz on the sidewalk in front of the grocery store
After the attackers fled, the mortally wounded by got up, with blood pouring from a wound on his neck
The suspects are seen above when they were driving away in a white sedan and a dark sedan after the killing
Another extremely graphic video posted on social media by a different user, shows Guzman-Feliz drenched in blood from head to toe, sitting on the sidewalk with his back against the wall.
A woman then tries to apply pressure to his neck before police officers and paramedics surround him. Guzman-Feliz succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
Officers said with his dying breath, the 15-year-old asked for some water, according to ABC 7 New York.
Investigators said he had told his mother he was going to the bodega a block away from his house to either repay a debt, or lend $5 to a friend. He never made it home that night.
The 15-year-old attended high school and dreamed of becoming a police detective one day
The victim’s sister, Genesis Collado-Feliz, 17, said her younger brother loved playing video games and would come to her for advice about girls.
She said Lesandro had recently become friends with a group of older boys, but she insisted he was not in a gang.
‘He tried to run into the store because he thought he’d be safe. They dragged him from the store like a dog,’ Collado-Feliz told the New York Post. ‘They were grown men and he was only 15.’
Guzman-Feliz was a student at the Dr Richard Izquierdo Health and Science Charter School.
News 12 The Bronx reported that he had aspired to become a police detective.
The GoFundMe page for the family, Justice for Junior, raised $129,416 of its $15,000 goal as of Sunday night.
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.’
Bronx-born rapper Cardi B posted this photo of the victim in the hospital. She made a donation of $8,000 to the family’s GoFundMe page