MS-13 gang member pleads guilty to horrific quadruple murder he committed when he was just 15
An MS-13 gang member reportedly pleaded guilty on Monday to the murder of four rival gang members on Long Island last year where he even admitted to being one of the men who butchered and bludgeoned the victims with blades and tree limbs, as per the New York Post.
17-year-old Josue Portillo pleaded guilty to four counts of racketeering murder and one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering in federal court in Central Islip for the April 2017 slayings of Justin Llivicura, Michael Lopez, Jorge Tigre and Jefferson Villalobos. “Myself and another MS-13 member personally murdered Michael Lopez by stabbing him with knives. I did this knowingly, willfully and without coercion when I was 15 years old,” Portillo said in court.
The unshaven and uncuffed lad in green and white striped prison scrubs further added, “I will forever suffer the pain of knowing how senseless these murders were and that none of the victims deserved to die.”
It was in May that the family members of the victims joined hands with President Trump at a press conference calling out for tougher immigration laws. At the time, the president apparently asked them to stand and be recognized, and he even shook their hands for standing in support of the cause.
Portillo, who is an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador and is also called by the name “Sparky” and “Curioso” in the gang, was reportedly in the ninth grade when he helped plan and carry out the gruesome quadruple murder. However, the teen is being prosecuted as an adult and faces life behind bars, according to reports.
Portillo admitted in court that he and his buddies schemed to have two female MS-13 associates lure in five suspected members of the rival 18th Street gang to the woods, where he and his gang ambushed the men with machetes, knives, sticks and an ax.
“We tricked the victims so they would go into the woods where they would be murdered,” Portillo told the judge. When pushed further for details, he went on to add that he personally had “a blade.” One of the targets in the planned murder scheme somehow escaped and is currently a government witness, but the other four people were killed in a scene described by the feds as a “horrific frenzy of violence.”
According to the publcation, Portillo showed very little emotion on his court appearance, but said he was sorry for what he did. “I apologize to the families of the victims, knowing my apology will not be accepted,” he said as some the family members wept. Although there are nine other people who have been charged for the murders, Portillo was the first person to plead guilty to the crime.
As per the feds, Portillo does not have a plea deal with the government. In a statement given by his lawyer, attorney Joseph Ryan Jr. said that he hopes the mea culpa will dissuade others from joining the brutal gang. “We trust that his guilty plea will discourage others from joining MS-13,” he said.
Currently, Portillo is scheduled to be sentenced on January 10, and is subject to deportation from the US once his prison term is done.