MS-13 Member Sentenced To 50 Years Prison For Quadruple Murder

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY - An MS-13 gang member was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Monday for his role in the quadruple murders of four men in 2017, according to the U.S. Attorney.

Freiry Martinez, who was 15-years-old at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in connection to his participation in the April 11, 2017 murders of Justin Llivicura, Michael Lopez, Jorge Tigre and Jefferson Villalobos, according to the U.S. Attorney.

The now 18-year-old was sentenced by United States Circuit Judge Joseph F. Bianco to 50 years’ imprisonment and deportation from the United States following his sentence.

Martinez order the murder of the four young men, along with another young man who survived the attack, because he thought they were members of a rival gang who were disrespectful towards the MS-13, the U.S. attorney said.

On the day of the brutal killing, two female associates of MS-13 lured the five young men, including the four victims, to a community park in Central Islip, at the direction of Martinez and other MS-13 members, the U.S. attorney said.

Prior to the murder Martinez, along with the other members and associates, met in a wooded area behind the park where they distributed weapons, discussed the plan to kill the victims and then waited for their arrival, the U.S. attorney said.

Once the female MS-13 associates arrived at the park, they led the victims to a wooded area and sent the MS-13 members a text message describing their location, the U.S. attorney said.

Then Martinez and the other MS-13 members and associates surrounded the victims and killed Llivicura, Lopez, Tigre and Villalobos using machetes, knives and wooden clubs, the U.S. attorney said. The fifth intended victim escaped.

After the attack, Martinez and his associates dragged the victims' bodies to a more secluded spot and fled, the U.S. attorney said. The four bodies were discovered the following evening.

Martinez was initially was charged as a juvenile that was filed under seal in the Eastern District of New York on July 10, 2017, the U.S. attorney said. He fled from New York to Virginia and later to Maryland after the murders and remained a fugitive until November 21, 2017 when he was arrested in Montgomery County, Maryland, according to the U.S. attorney.

Martinez, an illegal alien from El Salvador, was then turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and removed to the Eastern District of New York in custody by the United States Marshals Service, the U.S. attorney said.

Following the government's application to transfer Martinez to adult status for prosecution, the motion was granted by Judge Bianco.