Community Corner
5 Convicted Of Murder In Bronx Teen's Killing, DA Says
A jury convicted five men accused of killing Lesandro Guzman-Feliz outside a Bronx bodega last year, the Bronx DA's office said.
THE BRONX, NY — A jury convicted five men Friday who stood trial for last year's brutal mistaken-identity killing of 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, the Bronx District Attorney's Office said.
The five defendants — Jonaiki Martinez Estrella, Antonio Rodriguez Hernandez Santiago, Manuel Rivera, Jose Muniz and Elvin Garcia — were all found guilty of murder, conspiracy and gang assault charges, the DA's office said Friday.
Estrella was seen stabbing the teenage aspiring cop in the neck on surveillance video played during the trial, the New York Daily News reported.
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The men reportedly face life in prison. They're due to be sentenced on July 16, the DA's office said.
The verdicts came six days shy of the first anniversary of the boy's killing, which shocked the city last summer.
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A group of alleged members of the Trinitarios gang happened upon Guzman-Feliz, affectionately known as Junior, on June 20 of last year after planning to attack a rival faction of their gang, authorities have said.
The boy was dragged out of a bodega in Belmont and slashed and stabbed with knives and a machete before dying at St. Barnabas Hospital, officials said.
Authorities charged more than a dozen reputed Trinitarios members last year in connection with the crime. A GoFundMe page has raised more than $340,000 for Junior's family.
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