Arrest made in '02 Roosevelt gang-related murder

Police say an arrest has been made in connection to a gang-related murder in Roosevelt that happened nearly 13 years ago. Reputed MS-13 gang member Wuilmer Mendosa, 32, is charged with second-degree

News 12 Staff

Oct 9, 2015, 1:22 AM

Updated 3,347 days ago

Share:

Police say an arrest has been made in connection to a gang-related murder in Roosevelt that happened nearly 13 years ago.
Reputed MS-13 gang member Wuilmer Mendosa, 32, is charged with second-degree murder.
Mendosa is accused of being the triggerman in a gang shooting that killed 18-year-old Johnathan Harris on East Raymond Avenue back in 2002.
Prosecutors say Harris, who had just turned 18, was riding his bike when Mendosa and four other people walked up to the victim and asked him if he was a Bloods gang member. They say he was shot four times when he answered no.
Four men were arrested and charged in connection with the shooting back in 2002, but police said none of them actually pulled the trigger. Prosecutors say Mendosa was stopped and arrested in May while trying to re-enter the country after a flight from El Salvador to Texas. It's taken until now to have him extradited to New York.
After the murder, police say Mendosa fled to El Salvador for more than 12 years.
Mendosa was arrested in Texas and brought back to Long Island.
He pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail. Mendosa faces 25 years to life behind bars if he's convicted.