The gang member convicted of killing an innocent 15-year-old in one of the most brutal and senseless murders in recent New York crime history was found dead Friday in prison – not even a month into his sentence.
Jonaiki Martinez-Estrella, 31, was found dead at the Coxsackie Correctional Facility, where he was serving a sentence of 25 years to life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder of young Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, Pix 11 reported Sunday.
As of Sunday afternoon, authorities have not announced the inmate’s cause of death.
The gang member was originally sentenced in 2019 to life without parole on a first-degree murder conviction, which involved an element of “torture.” He was convicted of inflicting the neck wound that killed Guzman on June 20, 2018.
However, a New York appeals court later disagreed with the count of torture, overturned the defendant’s first-degree murder conviction, and Martinez-Estrella was resentenced in late May of this year to second degree murder and the new, more limited sentence.
New Yorkers found the details of the crime horrifying.
Four cars filled with members of the Trinitarios gang chased the young teen in the streets of the Bronx after they mistakenly thought he belonged to its rival “Sunsets” gang.
The terrified boy took refuge in a bodega, but gang members dragged him out to the sidewalk on Bathgate Avenue.
According to the New York Post’s coverage of the crime, “Despite the teen’s claims that he wasn’t a gang member, the mob beat him in the store, then dragged him into the street and hacked him to death with knives and machetes, leaving his lifeless body behind.”
Following the arrests, New Yorkers were outraged when the Post featured a photo of the smug killers smiling and flashing gang signs in court.
At least 13 other members of the gang have been sentenced, many receiving 25 years to life, Pix11 reported, with some taking plea bargains for the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Martinez-Estrella would have had a chance at parole after the 25-year sentence.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
