Leniz Escobar, known as “La Diablita” or “the little devil”, was found guilty of all charges Monday morning in Central Islip. The jury, consisting of seven men and five women, discussed for less than four hours. They started the debate last Thursday and informed the judge at the end of the day that they thought they had a verdict, but wanted to sleep on it at the weekend. No consultations were held on Friday. The jury met Monday at 9:31 a.m., and at 9:47 a.m., they sent a note to the judge saying they had a verdict. “I would say we are disappointed,” said Jessie Siegel, Escobar’s lawyer. “But we appreciate the time and effort put in by the jury.” Escobar showed no emotion as the jury read the verdict. He looked down at the table and at the judge. “He got the verdict as best he could, I think, you know, he understands the serious consequences for her,” Siegel said. Escobar’s family members appeared in court on Monday and thanked Escobar’s jury and lawyers for their hard work. Family members of the victims were not in court. During the trial, prosecutors said Escobar helped orchestrate the 2017 massacre as a teenage accomplice of the gang before falsely claiming to be an ambush victim. Escobar was convicted of extortion, including basic acts of murder, conspiracy to kill rival gangs and obstruction of justice. and murder in aiding and abetting the four deaths that prosecutors described as “a horrific frenzy of violence” with knives, knives and tree trunks in a Central Islip park. “With today’s verdict, Escobar has been held responsible for the crucial role he was willing to play in orchestrating one of the most vicious and absurd mass murders in the region in memory,” said US Attorney General Braun Peace. “The accused showed utter contempt for human life by leading the victims to a murder scene, to their slaughter, to strengthen her stature with her cold-blooded colleagues in the MS-13 gang. I hope Escobar’s conviction will bring some closure to the relatives of the victims and serves as a warning to other gang members that this Office, together with our law enforcement partners, will not rest until all those responsible for these killings are accountable and the MS-13 is no longer danger to our region “. The MS-13 was trying to clear up, prosecutors said, and believed the young victims, Justin Llivicura, Michael Lopez, Jorge Tigre and Jefferson Villalobos, were members of the rival 18th Street Gang gang. The families of the victims denied that any of them were killed in a gang. Prosecutors said Escobar, who was 17 at the time, was trying to win a favor with the MS-13 and alerted members to find the victims in a wooden area in Central Islip. Under MS-13 rules, the killings were “pre-approved” by the gang leadership, prosecutors said, and the perpetrators of the massacre were to gain members or join the ranks of the organization. Authorities said Escobar later threw her cell phone at a moving vehicle – as well as a SIM card that had been removed and damaged so badly that law enforcement could not recover its contents. One of the first witnesses, then 15, testified last month that Escobar was in charge of selecting the spot in the forest and showed the boys how to get there. He said they were there smoking when a group of seven to nine men passed through a fence very deep in the forest with knives and sweatshirts covering their faces. He said they told the group of five boys to kneel and not move otherwise they would all be killed. The witness testified that he got up from his knees, jumped to the top of a fallen tree and then over a fence to escape. After passing the fence, he said that two men who were chasing him were waiting there, but he managed to escape. The boy then went to the police and moved from Long Island to another state a few days later. The MS-13, also known as La Mara Salvatrucha, recruits young teenagers from El Salvador and Honduras, although many gang members were born in the United States. The gang has been accused of dozens of murders since January 2016 in a large area of Long Island. Siegel said that they are considering appealing, while at the same time focusing on preparing the sentence and trying to convince the judge not to sentence Escobar to life imprisonment. Siegel said that Escobar had a difficult life and should not be characterized by any harm he did. The verdict followed a four-week trial before United States Judge Joseph F. Bianco. When sentenced on September 14, Escobar faces a life sentence. READ ALSO 17-year-old in custody for shooting outside a Bronx school that killed a teenager and injured 2 others ———- * More news on Long Island* Send us a news tip* Download the abc7NY application for emergency notifications * Follow us on YouTube Copyright © 2022 WABC-TV. All rights reserved.
