Fifth Person Charged In Gang-Related Murder Of Nassau Man: Police

UNIONDALE, NY — Nassau County police have arrested a fifth person and charged them in the gang-related killing of a 19-year-old Hempstead man whose body was found in the woods in 2020.

Osmin Campos-Sandoval, 19, of Hempstead, was found in the woods near the Uniondale Water Tower on Oct. 6, 2020. The area is near Uniondale High School. Police believe Campos-Sandoval was killed in 2016 or 2017 as a result of MS-13 violence.

According to Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, Campos-Sandoval's body was found as police investigated MS-13 crimes in the area. Officers went back to the woods, which they had searched before, and investigated a different area based on new information. Campos-Sandoval's body was found with the help of a cadaver-sniffing dog from the New York State Police Department.

On Jan. 18, police arrested Jeustin David Maldonado, 22, of Uniondale, in connection with the crime. He is charged with second-degree murder, and is scheduled to be arraigned later today in first-district court in Hempstead.

Maldonado, a member of MS-13, has already been charged in many other crimes. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the 2016 death of 16-year-old Alexon Moya. He was also charged in connection with the brutal slaying of 18-year-old Bryan Steven Cho Lemus at the Massapequa Preserve on Aug. 23, 2016.

Maldonado was also charged with second-degree murder after the remains of an unidentified person were found near the Meadowbrook State Parkway last July.

This is the fifth arrest Nassau County police have made in connection with this murder. Sandra Tobar Mejia, of Hempstead, was arrested on Feb. 24, 2021; Christian Rodriguez, of Hempstead, was arrested on March 9, 2021; Gerson Stanley Juarez, of Hempstead, was arrested on April 25, 2021; and Raul Ponce, of Hempstead, was arrested on Nov. 11, 2021. All four were charged with second-degree murder.