Freeport man among 8 charged in Bronx teen's brutal death

<p>A Freeport man is among six men who arrived in New York City Wednesday after their extradition from New Jersey on murder and other charges in connection with the brutal slaying of a 15-year-old boy.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jun 27, 2018, 3:36 PM

Updated 2,127 days ago

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A Freeport man is among six men who arrived in New York City Wednesday after their extradition from New Jersey on murder and other charges in connection with the brutal slaying of a 15-year-old boy.
Police arrested six suspects in Paterson, New Jersey, including Joniki Martinez, a 24-year-old from Freeport. Martinez is accused of delivering a fatal gash to the victim's throat.
Four of them are Bronx residents: Jose Taverez, 21, Manuel Rivera, 18, Danel Fernandez, 21, and Santiago Rodriguez, 24. Jose Muniz, 21, is from New Jersey.
The NYPD also arrested two other suspects in the city: 19-year-old Kevin Alvarez, and 23-year-old Elvin Garcia. All eight of them face a slew of charges that include murder.
At least some of them are allegedly members of the Trinitarios gang.
Police say they pulled Lesandro Guzman-Feliz out of a bodega last week and hacked him to death in a possible case of mistaken identity. 
Graphic surveillance video of the slaying circulated on widely on social media. It shows the men dragging Guzman-Feliz along the ground as he desperately claws at a brick wall. Then several of them take turns stabbing and hacking him before fleeing. He staggers to his feet, visibly gushing blood from his throat before stumbling in a circle.
The video ends with the blood-covered victim making his way toward St. Barnabas Hospital -- which is a block away from the crime scene. Police say he died outside the door.
Guzman-Feliz was a member of the NYPD's Explorers program, which aims to introduce teens to careers in law enforcement. He wanted to grow up and become a detective.
Thousands attended his funeral Wednesday at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in the Belmont section of the Bronx.


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