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A warning: These next scenes are hard to watch, and weve obscured some graphic parts. Reyes said the order implied: If you have a gun, shoot it, if you a have a knife, you stab, if you have a machete, you use it.. READ: #JusticeForJunior: A Group of Men Fatally Stabbed Bronx Teen With Machete. Because he resisted their efforts to stab him does not diminish their intent.. Five other people have been arrested and accused of involvement in the crime. What could be put in place in their neighborhoods to substitute the pull of the gang? The referrals are a nice bonus too, Get to figuring your way around AI sooner rather than later, Enjoy. This story has been shared 137,355 times. The trial also included shocking revelations, including when it was learned that the self-proclaimed gang member who testified against the other five alleged Trinitarios members on trial could get off because of his testimony. How do you protect your children from predators? But Reyes told the court that he couldnt follow through with Sueros order after looking Junior in the face. A bottle of hate had been uncorked and there was no way to close it. Go after Sunset, you know what you have to do, Suero reportedly told the men. What Better Place To Network Than The Facebook Friends List? Does An In Depth Analysis Predicting SCOTUS Decisions Help You Wind Down? But the owner appears to direct him away. Just 20 minutes later, Junior is pronounced dead as a result of a stab wound to the neck. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Privacy Center | Select from premium Lesandro of the highest quality. Mr. Reyes testified that Lesandro responded by raising his hand and saying Que lo siete, which Mr. Reyes said signaled that the teenager was a Sunset member. Their trial provided a glimpse inside the violent Trinitarios gang, whose members mistook 15-year-old Lesandro Junior Guzman-Feliz for a rival. It brought cries for vengeance couched in the Justice for Junior slogan. WNBC reported that the . And on the night before Juniors murder, he had witnessed another stabbing at Adams Place. According to . They gathered outside of Mr. Sueros apartment building on Boston Road, where they smoked hookah and played music. He makes it to the entrance of the hospital before collapsing. "See what happens with those killers," said Leandra Feliz. That order came during a bloody feud within the Trinitarios that had pitted Sunset, which is based in Brooklyn, against Mr. Sueros two Bronx sets, the witnesses said. He specializes, New surveillance footage shows the moments before and after. Understanding Big Law: A Must-Read Guide To One Of The Most Challenging Workplaces In The World Is Now Available. During Tuesdays closing arguments, Bronx assistant district attorney Morgan Dolan told the jury how Lesandro Guzman-Feliz valiantly avoided multiple attempted stabbings by a mob of men who had dragged him out of a bodega on June 20. Junior then comes back to the store bloodied. A dozen alleged gang members were indicted July 18, with five charged with first degree murder, which includes torture, for the June 20 death of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz and could face life in prison without parole. Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, known as 'Junior,' was mistaken for another person in a murder earlier this week described as "among the most brutal crimes I've seen in my 36yr career," New York . Maybe these wounds didn't contribute to the death but they certainly contributed to the pain and agony he was suffering, which fulfills the elements of murder in the first degree and as a result they're still guilty, he says. A Trinitarios ringleader, Diego Suero, issued the order to his minions, who then mistook Guzman-Feliz for a rival when they stabbed him to death outside a bodega June 20, 2018, cooperating witness and gang member Michael Sosa Reyes, 20, told Bronx Supreme Court jurors. Todays verdict fortifies the Bronx communitys stand against violence.. That night, Lesandro had left his home on Bathgate Avenue to lend a friend $5, his mother had said during an interview last year. At around 11:30, Junior leaves, and two minutes later security cameras catch him on this corner passing near his home. I didnt see the kid., 5 Convicted of Hacking Innocent Teenager Junior Guzman to Death, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/nyregion/lesandro-guzman-murder-trinitarios-verdict.html. dragged him from the store and stabbed him to death. In a panic, he tries to hide behind the counter. Forsyth County prosecutors rested their case Tuesday morning. Dr. Rodriguez said its possible if pressure was applied to the wound and Junior was brought to the hospital earlier, he could have survived. But some of the most powerful evidence came from two gang members involved in the attack who testified for the prosecution in return for lenient sentences: Kevin Alvarez, 20, and Michael Reyes, 20. Junior rushes into this bodega just one block from his home. The medical examiner testified the wounds on his back and legs were consistent with being dragged. Video surveillance showed the men dragging Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz out of a Bronx bodega on his back and stabbing him with long knives and a machete. Junior is on summer break from school. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. The murder of 15-year-old Guzman-Feliz, who was known as Junior, has captivated the community and public interest, partly because the brutal June 20 attack was caught on surveillance video where the teen is seen being dragged outside the bodega and attacked by a gang of five men who stabbed him with knives and hacked him with a machete as he struggled to defend himself. Frederick Then was arrested in 2018 in connection with Lesandros death. At the moment I saw his face, my eyes changed. But these verdicts will send a messageto those who would commitacts of senseless violenc, and help us move forward and bring closure to this awful chapter in our borough's history.". We talked to police sources, family members and other witnesses. Mr. Alvarez and Mr. Reyes described how their subsets of the Trinitarios terrorized rivals, including a Trinitarios splinter group called Sunset. How Junior was killed follows a pattern of attacks by Trinitarios, a Dominican gang that was born in New York prisons. Meanwhile a number of Bronx businesses are learning to be 'safe havens' for people in danger after a bodega owner was criticized for not doing enough 'Junior', who was killed outside his store. This 15-year-old boy, moments before death, fought like hell to get away, said Dolan. Closing arguments continue in the murder trial of Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz. LexisNexis Brief Analysis produces powerful, near-instant legal argumentation insights using the power of AI. The second day of trial in the killing of Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz was emotional and filled with graphic video and photos. In opening statements, prosecutors described the teen's killing as a calculated and planned murder by the five suspects. Then he walked toward Adams Place, where he sometimes met with friends. Ultimately, he was slashed in the neck and died after running to a hospital three blocks away. #justiceforjunior #ripjunior ALL THAT MUST STOP . Following that, no amount of logic, analysis, or pleas for reason could convince jurors to set aside their emotions. He felt cool. : Enjoy. He was picked on and one time, beaten up so badly his ribs were broken. The teen reportedly bled to death steps from the emergency room. Following the lengthy opening statements from the prosecution and defense attorneys for the five suspected gang members, the first of 14 to stand trial, the first witness took the stand. Both times the worker refuses to help the young teen. They carried weapons for two reasons for their own protection and to use them to hurt (not kill) a Sunset. Subscribe and get breaking news, commentary, and opinions on law firms, lawyers, law schools, lawsuits, judges, and more. Now that the prosecution had rested its case, the defense can begin to question witnesses next week, and once that process is done, closing arguments will begin. Do not sell my information. Richard Harbus "A Bronx jury found the two leaders guilty for their role in the murder, closing another chapter of. Fellow defendant Jose Muniz was heard saying "Trinitarios to the day I die" as he left the courtroom following the guilty verdicts. Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz, 15, was slashed in the neck with a machete at a bodega in the Bronx on June 19, 2018. AP Bronx gangbangers were given the order to inflict "any kind of damage". The night before Lesandro was killed, a large fight had erupted between the gangs, he said. Warning Graphic Video Below. We've received your submission. Photo Credit: Marisol Diaz-Gordon The dad struggled to make a living and Manuel struggled in school. The men punched and kicked Lesandro before dragging him out. The knife made it from the right side to the left, hit the muscle, hit the (jugular) vein, went behind the throat, hit the tissue on the back side of the mouth, Dr. Rodriguez said. Join Nancy Grace and a team of world-class experts for the online course Justice Nation: Crime Stops Here. People visit murder site to mourn the death of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz in Bronx in New York, United States on June 27, 2018. . Mistaking him for a member of a rival set, the gang chased the boy, Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, for blocks in the Belmont section of the Bronx, prosecutors said. Secure New Clients Using A Content Marketing Funnel, Seth Klarman Doesnt Care Whether J.K. Rowling Is Cancelled. He believed hed found a place to belong. Officers were called to a . 270p. [Featured Image: Lesandro Junior Guzman-Feliz/Facebook], 6-Year-Old Girl, 2 Adults Critically Wounded by Gunmen Looking for the Little Girls Father, Juror: Alex Murdaugh Convinces Himself of His Own Lies, Detroit Man Charged With Killing Friends Tot Daughter, Lesandro Guzman-Feliz valiantly avoided multiple attempted stabbings. As Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a press conference following the verdict, Junior came to symbolize all of the young people who have lost their lives to brutal gang violence. THE BRONX As they rested their case in the Junior murder trial Friday, prosecutors turned to the medical examiner who performed the teens autopsy, offering graphic detail of the wound that killed the 15-year-old almost a year ago. 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In the video, we see the 15-year-old ask for the help from the worker of the Cruz and Chiky Grocery on E. 183rd St. in the Bronx. Some Work Things Are Optional. However, all 12 alleged gang members were indicted on second degree murder, manslaughter, conspiracy, gang assault and criminal possession of a weapon. They are under investigation for failing to help. Although this position was strenuously argued by defense counsel, the jury ignored it. They said their subsets, called Los Sures and Bad Boys, abided by a strict code of conduct. At 10:05 p.m., security footage shows Junior leaving home to meet his friend Jason Velez at this corner. Juniors friend, a Trinitario, had been attacked by a rival faction and allegedly turned to Junior for help. The night of the murder, my client, Manuel Rivera, wasnt carrying a machete; he wasnt a monster and he never intended to kill Junior. Find Lesandro stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Is that why Junior was targeted? Defense lawyers for the four other defendants said in their closing arguments that the order from Mr. Suero had only been to injure a Sunset member, not to kill someone. The defense also tried to discredit Guzman-Feliz alleging he was in a gang photo a notion a detective who took the stand denied. Dr. Sophia Rodriguez from the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner performed Juniors autopsy and testified that the more than 4-inch deep wound was caused by a single-edge knife or blade. Prosecutors say that Jonaiki Martinez gave the fatal stab, slashing Juniors neck. No one, not prosecutors or police, wanted to admit, that Junior had gang connections. 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All 14 suspects are reportedly members of the Sures set of the Trinitarios gang. But the glee I saw in the eyes of spectators at the reading of straight convictions for Murder I was not founded. JOLIET, Ill. (AP) A Chicago-area toddler was hospitalized in critical condition Tuesday after finding an unsecured gun and shooting himself in the head, police said. Sabathia. But its too late. There were gasps from the courtroom as Assistant District Attorney Morgan Dolan presented the graphic photos of Juniors wounds during the testimony of the prosecutions final witness. On his way there, Junior was in touch with this friend, who lives on Adams Place and who, according to our reporting, is not in a gang, either. ), It was shared millions of times on social media and in the general press. Video: EXCLUSIVE: Race faker Jessica Krug hailed Bronx bodega murder of 15-year-old Junior Guzman a 'revolutionary moment' because 'he wanted to be a cop' and mistakenly claimed he was .