NYPD Arrests Five In Brutal Mistaken Identity Slaying Of Teen Lesandro Guzman-Feliz
Police arrested five members of the vicious Dominican gang Trinitarios on Sunday for the grisly murder of 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman-Feliz. They had recently taken two of the suspects into custody but were later able to track down three more members that they arrested, as well. Lesandro Guzman-Feliz’s murder received national attention for the sheer brutality of it, and for what investigators said they believed was a case of mistaken identity, reports the New York Post.
A horrifying video provided by the New York Post shows Trinitarios gang members dragging the teen from a bodega in the Bronx Wednesday night. They allegedly hacked him to death with a machete and knives once they got him outside. Family members said the teen was in the area because he was going to lend money to a friend.
Many have spoken out against the bodega, including the teen’s family, saying they didn’t do enough to prevent the teen from being butchered in the street. The Inquistr reports that no one there did anything to protect the boy, nor did they immediately put in a call to the police. Mr. Guzman-Feliz limped to St. Barnabas Hospital but later succumbed to the mortal wounds. The bodega has since shuttered in response to the outrage.
Our Thoughts & Prayers goes to our Blue Family of NYPD! Police Explorer Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz is Never Forgotten!#BRONX #NY #NEWYORKCITY #BRONX #NY #NEWYORK #NEVERFORGOTTEN #NYPD #POLICEEXPLORER #EXPLORER #RIP #HERO#JUSTICEFORJUNIOR pic.twitter.com/AYxn6aVvKQ
— Blue Alert (@BlueAlertUs) June 24, 2018
After the slaying, the leader of the Trinitarios street gang allegedly spoke out to agree with investigators probing the case, saying that it really was a case of mistaken identity. He sent a message to the family of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz saying the teen wasn’t the one the Trintarios were trying to kill.
The message said, “I know it doesn’t mean a lot. It wasn’t supposed to be him.”
The two-minute Snapchat video apology also explained that the Trintario gang members who murdered the teen had been kicked out of the gang.
The family, however, says people shouldn’t believe the rumors on social media, and that no individual directly reached out to them with an apology, reports ABC7 NY.
Detectives are investigating whether the five Trinitarios members were actually seeking revenge on a similar looking young man who made a porn film that featured one of the gang member’s relatives. Lesandro Guzman-Feliz bears a striking resemblance to the unidentified young man in the porn video.
According to the New York Post, a still photo of the unidentified youth with the gang ties from the porn flick “juxtaposed with an image of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz,” has made its rounds on social media since the murder. Users of social media who are seeing the images are saying how similar both the boys look. Eerily, both young men have the same style of curly hair and wear identical square studs for earrings.
In the Bronx on 6/20, 15-yr-old Junior Guzman-Feliz was fatally stabbed by the men in the photo (on right). He was never going to give up on his dream of being an NYPD detective & WE’LL NEVER GIVE UP ON HIM. Help us get #JusticeForJunior You can anonymously call 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/0gVAMfmC7f
— NYPD Chief of Department (@NYPDChiefOfDept) June 23, 2018
Police investigating the crime say that there are likely six people involved in the murder of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz. Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea of the NYPD made a vow to catch the teen’s murderers.
