5 Attackers Get Life Sentences For The Murder Of 15-Year Old Junior Guzman-Feliz

The five Trinitarios gang members convicted in the vicious Bronx slaying of Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz were sentenced Friday to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

According to the young murderers, it was a case of mistaken identify, now they have to pay for the rest of their lives.

New York Post reports:

Judge Robert Neary handed down the sentences separately in Bronx Criminal Court, first sending Jonaiki Martinez Estrella, 25, to prison for life without the possibility of parole for the heinous, caught-on-camera machete and knife killing of 15-year-old Guzman-Feliz on June 20, 2018.

Surveillance video shows that Martinez Estrella delivered the 4½-inch-deep knife blow to Guzman-Feliz’s neck that ultimately killed him, prosecutors have argued.

“Certain words come to mind when I think about your involvement,” Neary told Martinez Estrella. “Senseless is one of these words. Savage is another word. But the one that often comes to my mind is cowardly.”

“You and your fellow gang members chased down and slaughtered a 15-year-old, defenseless boy in the most gruesome manner and we in this courtroom had the misfortune of witnessing it on tape,” the judge said.

Neary, who called Martinez Estrella the “executioner” of Guzman-Feliz, continued: “You destroyed a young life, condemned his family and yours to a lifetime of pain and despair.”

Before being slammed with the sentence, the Spanish-speaking Martinez Estrella said through a translator, “First of all, I want to say sorry to his family and ask forgiveness,” prompting someone in the courtroom to shout, “Bulls—t!”

“My intention was not to cause the death of this kid or cause injuries that would end up in the loss of his life,” said Martinez Estrella, who claimed he was “under the influence of alcohol and drugs.”

“Regrettably, I’m responsible for the death of the young child, Junior,” he said.

Co-defendants Antonio Rodriguez Hernandez Santiago, 25, Jose Muniz, 23, and Elvin Garcia, 25, were each hit with a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

Rodriguez Hernandez Santiago’s mother got up and screamed in the courtroom after the judge handed down her son’s lengthy term.

“He is my son!” the mother shouted. “He did not kill Junior! He did not kill Junior!”

And 19-year-old Manuel Rivera was sentenced to 23 years to life behind bars.

Guzman-Feliz’s devastated mom let the courtroom know the depth of her grief in a victim impact statement, which she read, unwavering, in Spanish.

“Here I am, a mother without my son … an innocent 15-year-old boy who was not a gang member who roamed the streets with bad intentions,” Leandra Feliz told the courtroom. “These criminals ripped him away from me, leaving all his family and school friends.”

“They killed an innocent child. Then all these men, not a single one said, ‘No, no, no, don’t do it,’” Feliz continued, adding that on that tragic night, “there were two deaths: Junior and I, who was left dead inside.”

“This group of evil criminals using their gang-related activities decided to go out and kill,” she said. “These actions were all captured on camera, leaving millions of people devastated. In the same way the videos of their violence went viral, the punishment should be equal so that the New York City can be safer for everyone.”

The mom said her son, who was in the NYPD’s Explorers program, “dreamed of becoming a detective so he can protect this city.”

“Unfortunately, his dream was crushed by these dangerous gang members,” said Feliz.

Guzman-Feliz’s dad, Lisandro Guzman, also read a victim impact statement in Spanish, saying that since his son’s murder, “I struggle daily to find meaning in my life.”

In addressing the defendants, Guzman said: “I will never forgive you for deciding to murder my son. You deserved to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. You deserved to be punished for causing so much pain. You are the poster children for danger to society.”

“My hope is that you will never have a chance to hurt another child in the way you hurt mine,” the heartbroken dad said. “My hope is that another family will never have to live with the pain of losing a child, the pain that I will have to live with for the rest of my life.”

In June — less than a week before the anniversary of the vicious murder — a jury convicted the five Trinitarios gang members on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, second-degree conspiracy and second-degree gang assault.

Guzman-Feliz was stabbed to death by the savage pack outside the Cruz and Chiky bodega after he was dragged out of the Belmont store in a case of mistaken identity.

The slaying happened about a block from where the boy lived with his family.

Guzman-Feliz had run into the bodega at East 183rd Street and Bathgate Avenue after being chased by the group around midnight that night.

The teen died after collapsing near the entrance of St. Barnabas Hospital.

Eight other defendants in the case are still awaiting trial.