'Justice Will Be Done,' 10 People Charged With Committing 'Vicious Killing' For MS-13
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Federal prosecutors said they have arrested more accused MS-13 gang members for a series of brutal murders on Long Island.
As CBS2's Jessica Borg reported, the gang has been charged with using young female associates to lure several victims to their deaths.
Members of the Long Island Gang Task Force strode into the U.S. federal courthouse in Central Islip on Wednesday to detail the latest indictments of alleged MS-13 gang members for five murders this year.
Acting U.S. attorney Bridget Rohde said there are now 10 people charged with the "vicious killing of four young men in a Central Islip park in April, including six juveniles."
The federal prosecutor alleges, the gang members suspected the four victims were members of a rival gang, and then used, "two female associates to lure them to the park."
"There, more than a dozen MS-13 associates were lying in wait in a wooded area armed with machetes, knives, and clubs," Rohde said.
Rohde said they have also arrested all of the MS-13 members responsible for killing a suspected rival gang member inside of a Central Islip deli.
"Two new defendants, Mario Lopez and Jose Alvarez are charged with the January 30, Alvarado Bonilla murder," Rhode said.
The new arrests and indictments are part of the federal task force's aggressive crackdown on a gang with South American roots. Last month, alleged members of the gang were charged with numerous crimes.
Last year, two teen girls who angered the gang were brutally murdered and their bodies dumped in the street. Suffolk Police Commissioner Tim Sini said the continued crackdown can bring some comfort to the victim's families.
"We can take solace they are behind bars, and that justice will be done," Sini said.
Prosecutors said their investigation is ongoing and expect to announce even more arrests shortly. They would not comment on whether the two young female gang associates who allegedly lured the four young men to their death in the park, will also be charged.