18th Street Gang Member Gets Prison Term For Two Murders

NEW YORK — A member of the 18th Street Gang was sentenced to 45 years in prison Wednesday for racketeering and for his involvement in two murders, including the brutal videotaped slaying of a man in Saugerties.

U.S. District Court Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall imposed the sentence on Yanki Misael Cruz-Mateo, 25, of Jamaica, Queens, at a proceeding in Brooklyn.

Cruz-Mateo previously pleaded guilty for participating in the two murders, including the October 25, 2017 slaying of 20-year-old Jonathan Figueroa in Saugerties, and the February 2, 2018 killing of 20-year-old Oscar Antonio Blanco-Hernandez in Queens, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

John J. Durham, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said he hopes the lengthy sentence will provide some comfort and closure to the victims’ loved ones.

“Cruz-Mateo committed two horrific murders and boasted about the carnage in video and text messages to instill fear, exact retribution, and promote gang violence,” Durham said.

According to prosecutors, Figueroa was stabbed to death in Turkey Point State Forest, a 139-acre state forest in Saugerties, and then buried in a makeshift grave.

“Cruz-Mateo ordered the murder to be video-recorded and captured multiple 18th Street members and associates repeatedly stabbing Figueroa, slashing his throat and severing his ear,” prosecutors said, in the press release.

According to prosecutors, in the video, Cruz-Mateo indicates Figueroa was being murdered for “being a rat.” Cruz-Mateo then sent the video to other 18th Street members as a warning, prosecutors said.

The FBI, along with state and local law enforcement officers, found Figueroa’s body in February 2018 in a five-foot deep grave in the state forest. Figueroa suffered more than 100 stab wounds, prosecutors said.

In the other murder, Blanco-Hernandez was killed because several gang members believed he was a member of the rival MS-13 gang. According to prosecutors, gang members took Blanco-Hernandez to a quiet residential neighborhood, with the unsuspecting victim believing he was hanging out with friends.

“Cruz-Mateo drew a .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun and shot Blanco-Hernandez in the back of the head, killing him instantly,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said, in the news release.

Blanco-Hernandez’s body was discovered on a residential street in the Jamaica Hills section of Queens.