Two Defendants Were the New York Leaders of the Gang’s Hollywood and Sailors Cliques
Earlier today and on January 16, 2025, in federal court in Central Islip, three members of the violent transnational criminal organization La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, pleaded guilty to multiple crimes, including nine murders committed on Long Island and elsewhere between 2016 and 2017. David Sosa-Guevara, also known as “Risky,” the New York regional leader of the Hollywood Locos Salvatruchas (Hollywood) clique of MS-13, and Victor Lopez-Morales, also known as “Persa,” a high-ranking member of the Hollywood clique, pleaded guilty on January 16, 2025. Kevin Torres, also known as “Inquieto” and “Quieto,” the New York regional leader of the Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside (Sailors) clique of MS-13, pleaded guilty on January 17, 2025.
Collectively, the three defendants pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in connection with their respective roles in nine MS-13 driven murders: (1) the April 26, 2016 murder of Samuel Martinez-Sandoval in Freeport; (2) the April 29, 2016 murder of Oscar Acosta in Brentwood; (3) the May 21, 2016 murder of Kerin Pineda in Freeport; (4) the September 4, 2016 murder of Josue Amaya-Leonor in Roosevelt; (5) the September 5, 2016 murder of Marcus Bohannon in Central Islip; (6) the October 10, 2016 murder of Javier Castillo in Freeport; (7) the October 14, 2016 murder of Carlos Ventura-Zelaya in Roosevelt; (8) the July 21, 2017 murder of Angel Soler in Roosevelt; and (9) the August 29, 2017 murder of David Rivera in Maryland, as well as narcotics trafficking. Additionally, Sosa-Guevara and Lopez-Morales pleaded guilty to participating in an August 2017 conspiracy to kidnap an individual identified in the superseding indictment as “John Doe #3.”
The three guilty plea proceedings were held before United States Magistrate Judge Lee G. Dunst. When sentenced by United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack, pursuant to the terms of their plea agreements, Sosa-Guevara and Torres each face up to 65 years in prison, and a minimum sentence of 40 years in prison. Victor Lopez-Morales faces up to 60 years in prison and minimum sentence of 40 years.
Carolyn Pokorny, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Robert E. Waring, Acting Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), Patrick J. Ryder, Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) and Anne T. Donnelly, Nassau County District Attorney, announced the guilty pleas.
“The defendants have admitted to their participation in numerous murders savagely committed with machetes and guns, all on behalf of the MS-13 and to increase their status in that depraved criminal organization,” stated Acting United States Attorney Pokorny. “As a result of the guilty pleas, the defendants will be severely punished by serving decades in prison and provide some measure of relief and closure to the families of the many victims.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Dennehy stated: “MS-13 callously used murder in an attempt to exert control over territory for their ruthless gang operations. As demonstrated by the guilty pleas of these three, high-ranking MS-13 members for their roles in nine murders, this type of extreme and senseless violence will not go unpunished. The FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to bring to justice members of MS-13 or any other violent gang using violence and murder to terrorize our communities.”
“These defendants used their rank in the gang to help orchestrate multiple brutal murders and other crimes,” stated SCPD Acting Commissioner Waring. “We in law enforcement will never stop working to fight the pervasive violence sowed throughout these gangs.”
“The charges brought forth is a clear example of the results when Law Enforcement Personnel from Federal and Local Agencies combine their efforts and resources,” stated NCPD Commissioner Ryder. “Their relentless and continued investigations resulted with the charging of these criminals who were responsible for committing these murders. This combined investigation demonstrates the diligence of the well trained and determined investigators. The Nassau County Police Department remains committed in working with our law enforcement partners halting any gang activity on our streets and keeping our residents safe. I would like to thank all of the assisting agencies and their investigators on a job well done.”
“These defendants carried out vicious and senseless violence to instill fear and assert their dominance. Today’s guilty pleas bring us one step closer to ridding this dangerous gang activity from Nassau County communities,” stated Nassau County District Attorney Donnelly. “Together with our partners, we remain committed to protecting Long Island from this criminal organization’s brutality and ensuring individuals involved in these devastating acts are held accountable for their crimes.”
According to court filings and statements made during the guilty plea proceedings, Torres was the New York regional leader of the Sailors clique, Sosa-Guevara was the New York regional leader of the Hollywood clique, and Lopez-Morales was a high-ranking member of the Hollywood clique. The defendants admitted to committing the crimes set forth below in order to maintain and increase their membership and status within the gang, and to further the mission of the MS-13.
April 26, 2016 Murder of Samuel Martinez-Sandoval
The defendants pleaded guilty to the murder of 20-year-old Martinez-Sandoval, which was carried out in April 2016, by the defendants and other members from the Sailors, Hollywood and Normandie Locos Salvatruchas cliques, who planned a joint operation to lure and kill Martinez-Sandoval because they believed that he was a member of the rival Sureños gang.
On April 26, 2016, MS-13 members convinced Martinez-Sandoval to drive with them to a secluded, wooded area near Freeport Lake in Roosevelt, under the guise of smoking marijuana. Separately, more than a half dozen MS-13 members, including the defendants, armed with machetes and other weapons, had gathered at a designated location along Freeport Lake where it was agreed that the other gang members would bring the victim. When Martinez-Sandoval arrived, Sosa-Guevara, Torres, Lopez-Morales and the other MS-13 members surrounded and attacked the victim, each taking turns hacking him with a machete and other weapons. After the victim was killed, the MS-13 members dug a shallow grave and buried the victim. However, because the initial hole was not deep enough to conceal Martinez-Sandoval’s body, a group of MS-13 members went back the following day, reburied the victim and covered his body with cement and dirt. Martinez-Sandoval’s body was not found until September 2024.
April 29, 2016 Murder of Oscar Acosta
Torres pleaded guilty to the murder of 19-year-old Acosta. In early 2016, Torres, as leader, ordered a “greenlight” authorizing other gang members to murder Acosta because the gang suspected that he was associating with the rival 18th Street gang after previously aligning himself with the MS-13. Torres assigned roles as to which members would take the lead in planning and carrying out the murder.
On April 29, 2016, MS-13 members met Acosta in a wooded area near an elementary school in Brentwood where he had been lured under the guise of smoking marijuana. They brutally beat Acosta with tree limbs, knocking him unconscious. They bound Acosta’s hands and feet, wrapped an article of clothing around his mouth to prevent him from making noise and summoned other MS-13 members who arrived in two cars. The MS-13 members loaded Acosta into the trunk of one of the cars and drove to a more secluded area in Brentwood near the abandoned Pilgrim State Psychiatric Hospital. The MS-13 members then removed Acosta, who was still alive, from the trunk and carried him deeper into the woods where they took turns hacking him to death with a machete. The murder was supervised by the local leaders of the Sailors clique who reported back to Torres once completed. After killing Acosta, the MS-13 members buried his body in a shallow grave.
Acosta’s body was discovered by law enforcement nearly five months later, on September 16, 2016, during a search for another MS-13 victim. His cause of death was homicidal violence, including sharp and blunt force injuries to his head and torso.
May 21, 2016 Murder of Kerin Pineda
The defendants also pleaded guilty to the murder of 20-year-old Pineda, who, like Acosta, was killed because of his suspected membership in the 18th Street gang. Torres, again, ordered the “greenlight” for Pineda, marking him for death. In response, MS-13 members from the Sailors and Hollywood cliques, including Sosa-Guevara and Lopez-Morales, devised a plan to kill Pineda.
On May 21, 2016, MS-13 members, armed with machetes, lured Pineda to a secluded wooded area near the Merrick-Freeport border. Torres, Lopez-Morales, and Sosa-Guevara acted as lookouts for police and coordinated the attack, staying in contact with the MS-13 members in the woods while they waited for Pineda. When Pineda arrived, he was surrounded and violently attacked by the group of MS-13 members, each of whom took turns hacking and slashing him with the machetes. Pineda’s body was then buried in a hole that had been dug in the ground the day before, in anticipation of the murder. Before leaving the scene, the MS-13 members contacted the lookouts – Torres, Lopez-Morales, and Sosa-Guevara – who advised them that they could safely come out of the woods and drove them away from the scene.
September 4, 2016 Murder of Josue Amaya-Leonor
Sosa-Guevara and Lopez-Morales pleaded guilty for their roles in the murder of 19 year-old Amaya-Leonor on September 4, 2016. Like the other victims, Amaya-Leonor was lured to a secluded wooded area and killed because of his perceived association with the 18th Street gang. On the evening of the murder, MS-13 members convinced Amaya-Leonor to venture deep into the Roosevelt Preserve, in Roosevelt, to smoke marijuana. Sosa-Guevara was in communication with the gang members by cell phone and was directing them on where to bring the victim. Once there, Amaya-Leonor was surrounded by the MS-13 members who were armed with machetes; he was struck repeatedly, and killed. Thereafter, Lopez-Morales, who was in the immediate area of the murder looking out for police, arrived on the scene and supervised the other MS-13 members as they dug a hole and buried Amaya-Leonor’s body, which was not found until May 2018 – over a year and a half after the murder had occurred.
September 5, 2016 Murder of Marcus Bohannon
Torres pleaded guilty to authorizing the murder of 27-year-old Marcus Bohannon. On September 4, 2016, members of the Sailors clique met at the house of local clique leaders Alexi Saenz and Jairo Saenz, in Central Islip, where Torres directed the gang members to go out hunting for rival gang members to kill. The MS-13 members separated into several cars and drove around Central Islip and Brentwood, until one of the cars spotted Bohannon walking along Lowell Avenue in Central Islip in the early morning hours of September 5. Suspecting that Bohannon was a member of the rival Bloods gang, two MS-13 members, carrying firearms, got out of the vehicle, approached him and started shooting. Bohannon was struck nine times, including in his head, neck, and chest, and died from his wounds.
October 10, 2016 Murder of Javier Castillo
Torres also pleaded guilty to the murder of 15-year-old Javier Castillo. In October 2016, the MS-13 targeted Castillo because he was believed to be a member of the 18th Street gang. On October 10, 2016, members of the Sailors clique in Brentwood convinced Castillo, who lived in Central Islip, to go with them to Freeport – approximately 30 miles away – to smoke marijuana. Torres authorized the members of the clique operating in Brentwood to bring Castillo to his territory in Freeport to be killed. The MS-13 members took Castillo to an isolated marsh area along the water in Cow Meadow Park, in Freeport, where they attacked and killed him, taking turns hacking him with a machete. Torres also served as the lookout for police in the area during the murder. Thereafter, the MS-13 members dug a hole and buried Castillo’s body, which was not recovered until one year later, in October 2017.
October 14, 2016 Murder of Carlos Ventura-Zelaya
Sosa-Guevara and Lopez-Morales pleaded guilty to the murder of 24-year-old Ventura-Zelaya, who had been marked for death by the MS-13 because of his suspected membership in the rival 18th Street gang. On the day of the murder, Ventura-Zelaya was observed at a deli in Roosevelt by a member of the Hollywood clique. Sosa-Guevara mobilized other members of the clique to kill Ventura-Zelaya and conducted surveillance of the victim until the other gang members arrived. The gang members tasked with carrying out the murder first drove to pick up a gun from Lopez-Morales. After obtaining the weapon, the group drove in the direction of the deli to look for and kill the victim. Once they spotted Ventura-Zelaya walking on Hudson Street in Roosevelt, two MS-13 members got out of the car, approached him and one
of them fired multiple times, striking and killing the victim. They then ran back to the car and drove away from the scene.
July 21, 2017 Murder of Angel Soler
Sosa-Guevara and Lopez-Morales also pleaded guilty to the murder of 15-year-old Soler. The MS-13 suspected Soler was an 18th Street gang member, and Sosa-Guevara ordered his murder. Lopez-Morales and other MS-13 members carried out the murder, luring Soler to wooded lot near Milburn Creek in Roosevelt to smoke marijuana. The group attacked Soler with machetes and a pickaxe, and buried his body in a shallow grave. The following day, MS-13 members went back to lay cement over Soler’s body, in order to better conceal it. Soler’s remains were recovered in October 2017.
August 2017 Conspiracy to Kidnap John Doe #3
Lopez-Morales and Sosa-Guevara also admitted that, just weeks after the Soler murder, they and other MS-13 members planned the kidnapping, assault, and/or murder of John Doe #3, an MS-13 member who had violated the rules of the gang. Specifically, Sosa-Guevara assigned Lopez-Morales and two other MS-13 members to carry out the kidnapping and attack. Lopez-Morales was instructed that, once they had John Doe #3, to wait for further guidance from MS-13 leadership as to whether to kill or brutally assault him. On August 6, 2017, Lopez-Morales and the other gang members’ plan to kidnap John Doe #3 was foiled by law enforcement, who had been intercepting the calls arranging the attack, pursuant to court-ordered wiretaps of certain MS-13 members’ cell phones, and Lopez-Morales was taken into custody.
August 29, 2017 Murder of David Rivera
Sosa-Guevara also admitted to his participation in the murder of 16-year-old Rivera in Maryland. To avoid law enforcement in New York, Sosa-Guevara and another Hollywood member from Long Island relocated to Maryland where they connected with the local Hollywood clique. After arriving, Sosa-Guevara learned of a plan to kill a rival gang member and directed the other Long Island member of his clique to participate. On August 29, 2017, Sosa-Guevara drove the other gang member to a park outside of Edgewater, Maryland, for him to participate in the Rivera murder. The victim was brought to that location by other MS-13 members, attacked with machetes and killed. After the murder, Sosa-Guevara drove the member of his clique away from the scene. Rivera’s body was not found until June 7, 2024.
Narcotics Trafficking Conspiracies
Finally, Torres pleaded guilty to conspiring with the members of the Sailors clique to distribute cocaine and marijuana, and Sosa-Guevara and Lopez-Morales pleaded guilty to conspiring with members of the Hollywood clique to distribute marijuana. These charges stemmed from the MS-13 cliques’ street-level sales of cocaine and marijuana on Long Island, the proceeds of which were used to help finance the MS-13’s criminal operations.
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These guilty pleas are the latest achievements in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York targeting members of the MS-13, a violent, transnational criminal organization. The MS-13’s leadership is based in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, but the gang has thousands of members across the United States. With numerous branches, or “cliques,” the MS-13 is the most violent criminal organization on Long Island. Since 2003, hundreds of MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York. A majority of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges for participating in murders, attempted murders and assaults. Since 2010, this Office has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 70 murders in the Eastern District of New York, resulting in the convictions of dozens of MS-13 leaders and members in connection with those murders. These prosecutions are the product of investigations led by the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers of the FBI, SCPD, NCPD, Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, Suffolk County Probation Office, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police, the Hempstead Police Department, the Rockville Centre Police Department and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The government’s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Paul G. Scotti, Justina L. Geraci and Megan E. Farrell are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Assistant District Attorney Jared Rosenblatt of the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office and Paralegal Specialist Kerry Ucci and Automated Litigation Specialist Michael Compitello.
The Defendants:
VICTOR LOPEZ-MORALES (also known as “Persa”)
Age: 36
Roosevelt, New York
DAVID SOSA-GUEVARA (also known as “Risky”)
Age: 33
Roosevelt, New York
KEVIN TORRES (also known as “Quieto” and “Inquieto”)
Age: 29
Freeport, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-251 (S-1)(JMA)