MS-13 member pleads guilty in 2002 slaying

<p>An MS-13 gang member accused in a 2002 slaying has reached a plea deal with prosecutors that could see him released from prison in 10 years or less.</p>

News 12 Staff

Mar 13, 2017, 3:36 PM

Updated 2,769 days ago

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MS-13 member pleads guilty in 2002 slaying
An MS-13 gang member accused in a 2002 slaying has reached a plea deal with prosecutors that could see him released from prison in 10 years or less.
Wuilmer Mendosa pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Wednesday. Prosecutors say he killed 18-year-old Jonathan Harris on a Roosevelt street in a gang-related slaying to boost his "street cred."
Mendosa shot Harris four times and then fled the country. He was arrested last year attempting to re-enter the United States from El Salvador.
The victim's mother opposes the deal.
"I'm so furious," says Lorna Matthews. "I mean, he got a slap on the wrist...This guy ran for 13 years, and he gets 10 years?"
"We extend our deepest condolences to the family of Johnathan Harris," the Nassau District Attorney's Office said in a statement. "The defendant unexpectedly decided to plead guilty to manslaughter during a court appearance."
Officials say the plea was entered after the family was notified.
Mendosa is scheduled to be sentenced next month.