MS-13 Gang Member Pleads Guilty To 2017 Murders Of 4 Young Men On LI

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — A member of the deadly MS-13 street gang pleaded guilty to the 2017 murders of four young men in federal court on Wednesday, a spokesman for the prosecution confirmed with Patch.

Henry Edenilson Salmeron, 24, formerly of Brentwood, pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in the murders of Justin Llivicura, Jorge Tigre Michael Lopez, and Jefferson Villalobos, according to prosecutors.

On April 11, 2017, Justin Llivicura, 16, of East Patchogue; Jorge Tigre, 18, of Bellport; Michael Lopez Banegas, 20, of Brentwood; and Lopez Banegas' cousin, Jefferson Villalobos, 18, who was visiting the area from Pompano Beach, Florida; were lured into the woods by two female associates.

The MS-13 members believed the victims to be members of a rival gang. At least two of the men had disrespected the MS-13 by posting photos on social media in which they wore certain items and flashed hand signs that signified membership in the MS-13 gang, prosecutors said.

One of the intended victims immediately fled and was able to escape, prosecutors said.
Llivicura, Lopez, Tigre and Villalobos were then attacked and murdered with machetes, knives, an axe, and wooden clubs.

Federal prosecutors said Edenilson Salmeron later fled the country, and was apprehended by a transnational anti-gang unit in Guatemala. In July 2021, he was ordered to be extradited to the United States.

On Wednesday, Edenilson Salmeron told the U.S. District Court Judge Gary Brown he "knew that the reason we were surrounding and holding the victims was so that the other gang members could kill them,” Newsday reported.

Before Salmeron entered his plea, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Scotti estimated the guideline sentencing recommendation would be that he serves 24 1/3 to 30 1/3 years in federal prison.

He also told Salmeron, who is not a U.S. citizen, that he would likely be deported from the country after serving his sentence, Newsday reported.

Leniz "Diablita" Escobar, one of the female associates who led the four to their deaths, was convicted by a jury of racketeering, including predicate acts of murder, conspiracy to murder rival gang members, and obstruction of justice; and murder in aid-of racketeering in April 2022.

John Marzuli, spokesman for for the U.S. Eastern District of New York, confirmed the details with Patch on Thursday.

More than a dozen MS-13 members and associates have been charged in connection with the April 11, 2017 murders.