MS-13 Member Found Guilty In 2017 Machete Murder

MINEOLA, NY — A high-ranking member of MS-13 from Hempstead was convicted for his role in the 2017 murder of a Nassau teenager.

Carlos Portillo, also known as Solitario and Pikachu, 28, was convicted on Thursday of second-degree murder. He is due back in court for sentencing on March 7, and faces up to life in prison.

“High-ranking MS-13 member Carlos Portillo ordered the murder of an innocent 19-year-old man, simply because he wore the wrong color,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “Portillo provided a gun and a machete for the gruesome task and instructed his gang subordinates on how and where to kill Espantzay-Gonzales. I thank our prosecutors and the detectives at the Nassau County Police Department and New York City Police Department for their assistance in bringing this dangerous defendant to justice."

Seven people have been charged in the 2017 murder of 19-year-old Julio Cesar Espantzay-Gonzales, who was a perceived enemy of MS-13. Kevin Granados-Coreas, Antonio Cullal and Raul Ponce have previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the murder. Coreas was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison, Cullal was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, and Ponce was sentenced to 32 years to life in prison.

The other defendants — Roberto Abrego Reyes, Gerson Stanley Juarez and Laura Campos — are still awaiting trial.

Donnelly said that Espantzay-Gonzales wore the wrong color when invited to a known gang location prior to his murder, which is why he was a perceived enemy of MS-13.

Granados-Coreas told Abrego-Reyes, Portillo and Cullal that Espantzay-Gonzales was an enemy of the gang. Abrego-Reyes, as the leader of the Indios Locos Salvatrucha clique of MS-13, gave the order to Portillo – the second-in-command – that Espantzay-Gonzales must be killed, Donnelly said.

Portillo organized the gang members, instructed them on how and where to kill Espantzay-Gonzales, and provided them with a car, a gun and a machete.

Campos drove the defendants to and from the murder scene, Donnelly said.

Espantzay-Gonzales was lured to the Massapequa Preserve on Jan. 28, 2017, with promises of sex and marijuana. To lure him to the preserve, one of the gang members pretended to befriend him. Once inside the preserve, Granados-Coreas, Cullal, Ponce and Juarez hacked Espantzay-Gonzales to death with a machete, Donnelly said. The 19-year-old was also shot in the face.

Espantzay-Gonzales's body was left under tree branches, leaves and other brush, where it was found on March 23, 2017 by a man walking his dog in the preserve.