Teen Arrested, Accused Of Murdering Witness In MS-13 Case: Police

NEW CASSEL, NY — A teenager has been arrested and charged with murder after a witness who was preparing to testify against members of the violent MS-13 street gang was beaten to death before he could take the stand.

Nassau County police announced Saturday night that a 17-year-old New Cassel boy was arrested and charged with 2nd-degree murder in the slaying of Wilmer Maldonado Rodriguez, who was found dead behind an abandoned home near Broadway and Elizabeth Street. The teen was expected to appear in 1st District Court on Sunday in Hempstead.

In October 2018, Rodriguez, 36, intervened when MS-13 members tried to threaten two boys, police and prosecutors said. Gang members "senselessly attacked" Maldonado, prosecutors said, beating him in the head with a bat and repeatedly stabbing him.

In December of that year, prosecutors obtained a protective order for Rodriguez, who was a witness in the case. A year later, his name was given to defense attorneys under an order from the judge and the trial was scheduled to begin Jan. 6, five days after new criminal justice reform legislation took effect.

"After Jan. 6, a pattern of intimidation began," Patrick Ryder, the commissioner of the police department, said at a news conference.

On Jan. 30, a witness and victim in the case was shot at in New Cassel. Two days later Rodriguez was beaten again, but escaped his attackers. A day later, his body was found.

Ryder initially blamed criminal justice reform laws for Rodriguez's death, but later backtracked, saying there wasn't a direct link between the slaying and the new laws governing discovery.