Three alleged MS-13 gang members have been indicted by a grand jury for the January 2017 murder of 18-year-old Julio Espantzay-Gonzalez inside the Massapequa Park Preserve.
Carlos Portillo, aka Picachu, 23, Laura Campos, aka Salvi, 28, and Kevin Granados-Coreas, aka Lonely, 19, were all charged with second-degree murder on Feb. 14. They were remanded and are due back in court on March 12. Each defendant faces 25 years to life in prison.
“These defendants allegedly attempted to move up the MS-13 hierarchy by luring their teenage victim into the woods and brutally murdering him,” District Attorney Madeline Singas said. “We are committed to holding these alleged predators accountable for this horrific crime, and will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners at every level to end MS-13’s reign of terror.”
According to the District Attorney’s Office, on Jan. 28, 2017, Espantzay-Gonzalez, was brutally hacked with a machete and shot several times. His semi-buried body was discovered inside the Massapequa Park Preserve on March 23, 2017 by a man walking his dog.
The defendants allegedly acted together to lure the victim to the park with the promise of sex and drugs. The three allegedly believed Espantzay-Gonzalez was a member of the rival 18th Street gang and killed him to gain stature in MS-13.
Two already incarcerated defendants will be arraigned on indictment charges related to Espantzay-Gonzalez’ death on a later date.
Portillo and Granados-Coreas were arrested by Nassau County Police on July 29, 2017 and August 15, 2017 respectively, and Campos was arrested in Maryland on Sept. 22, 2017.
—Submitted by the District Attorney’s Office
