By Sasha Gonzales
[email protected]
A Bronx jury on Friday found five accused gang members guilty in the brutal June 2018 slaying of Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz.
Trinitarios members Jonaiki Martinez Estrella, Antonio Rodriguez Hernandez Santiago, Manuel Rivera, Jose Muniz, and Elvin Garcia, were convicted of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, second-degree conspiracy, and second-degree gang assault after jurors deliberated for about eight hours inside the Bronx Hall of Justice, prosecutors said.
Guzman, an aspiring police detective who participated in the NYPD Explorers program, was dragged out of a local bodega by his killers, who set upon him with knives and a machete.
The gang members mistakenly believed Guzman belonged to a rival gang, against whom the Trinitarios wanted to strike, prosecutors said.
The men face sentences of up to life in prison without parole at their July 16 sentencing.