MS-13 Member Involved In Kidnapping, Assault Extradited To Suffolk: DA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — A Huntington Station man and alleged member of MS-13 was extradited from North Carolina to Suffolk County to face charges in connection with the violent gang attack of a 15-year-old that left the boy unconscious, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced Wednesday.

Josue Zepeda Padilla, 28, of Huntington Station, was arraigned on charges of first-degree robbery; first-degree gang assault; and other related charges in connection with his role in the "violent attack," the DA's Office said.

Zepeda Padilla is one of the seven alleged members and associates of the Huntington Criminal Locates Salvatrucha — or "HCLS" — clique of the MS-13 street gang charged in the beating, the DA said.

He was arrested in Winston-Salem, North Carolina by the United States Marshals and the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Forces, officials said.

"I want to thank our federal partners for their assistance in bringing this alleged MS-13 gang member back to Suffolk County so that he can face accountability for his actions," Tierney said in a news release. "Let it be known that we will work with every law enforcement agency in this country to track down perpetrators of gang violence."

The other six, including a minor, were apprehended in January 2024, but Zepeda Padilla had remained at large, officials said.

On the morning of Jan. 6, 2024, the 15-year-old victim was lured to the Huntington Train Station by a group of MS-13 members and associates, prosecutors said.

While at the train station, Zepeda Padilla and four other suspected MS-13 members or associates surrounded the boy and took his money, investigators said. Zepeda Padilla and the others then punched the teenager repeatedly, knocked him to the ground, and kicked him multiple times, authorities said.

After the assault, Zepeda Padilla and his MS-13 associates forced the boy into a vehicle and drove him to the Pilgrim Psychiatric Center in Brentwood, the DA said. Once there, the assailants placed a hood over the boy's head and brought him into an abandoned building, prosecutors said. Inside the building, Zepeda Padilla and the other MS-13 members/associates beat the teenager repeatedly, struck him with a rock, and stabbed him in the neck, investigators said.

Zepeda Padilla and the other assailants then fled the abandoned building and left the victim unconscious on the ground, officials said.

The boy "miraculously" survived the assault, the DA's Office said.

He regained consciousness, found a way out of the building and walked to a nearby road where he collapsed, authorities said. A good Samaritan found him shortly after and called 911, the DA said.

The teenager was brought to a local hospital, and required surgery, including a craniotomy, to treat a brain bleed and fractured skull, prosecutors said. He ultimately survived his injuries, the DA said.

Following the assault, Zepeda Padilla fled Suffolk County and was on the run for over a year, Tierney said.

On March 5, after "extensive electronic tracking and surveillance," members of the Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and United States Marshal Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force and Carolina Task Force found and arrested Zepeda Padilla at a home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, officials said.

Zepeda Padilla was extradited back to Suffolk County on Tuesday, the DA said.

Zepeda Padilla was arraigned Wednesday on one count of first-degree robbery; one count of first-degree gang assault; one count of first-degree assault; one count of second-degree kidnapping; one count of first-degree attempted assault; one count of second-degree gang assault; three counts of second-degree robbery; and two counts of second-degree assault, the DA's Office said.

Zepeda Padilla was ordered held on $1M cash, $2M bond or $10M partially-secured bond while his case pends.

Zepeda Padilla is due back in court on April 21 and faces 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count. He is being represented by Anthony Rutkowski.