The mother of a 16-year-old boy slaughtered by MS-13 members said she hopes the brutal killer “rots in prison” — as the gang leader convicted of ordering the beating was sentenced to life in prison by a Brooklyn federal judge on Tuesday.
An emotionless Melvi Amador-Rios, 32, sat quietly as Brooklyn Assistant US Attorney Anna Karamigios read impact statements from victims of her Centrales Locos Salvatruchas, the MS-13 gang that ran riot in Jamaica, Queens, at her sentencing hearing.
Bertha Palaguachi, the mother of Julio Vasquez — a teenager who was stabbed more than 30 times by MS-13 members acting on Amador-Rios’ orders in 2017 — said she hopes those involved in her son’s murder never see the light of day again.
“They didn’t kill animals — they killed my son, and I want justice. I hope they stay and rot in prison,” Palaguachi wrote in his statement.
Amador-Rios – who goes by the nicknames “Lethal” and Pinky” – was the “corredor,” or leader, of the local MS-13 gang when he ordered subordinates Joshua “Colocho” Leiva and Luis “Inquieto” Rivas to set up a trap and lure Vasquez to Alley Pond Park in Queens on May 16, 2017.
There, they stabbed the teenager 34 times, leaving his body nearly beheaded, prosecutors said.
Melvi Amador-Rios was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday. circulation
Vasquez’s remains were later found by a local bird watcher, who testified at trial that the body was “covered in maggots.”
Amador-Rios was also convicted following the trial of masterminding the 2016 shooting of then 16-year-old Luis Serrano, who survived the attempted beating but was paralyzed.
Serrano, who sat motionless in a motorized wheelchair in the back of the courtroom, wrote about the hardships he faced since being targeted by Amador-Rios gang members — who believed he belonged to 18th Street, a rival Queens gang, all “Because of the five minutes I spent with those three men.”
“When I woke up in the hospital, the doctor told me how I couldn’t move. I started crying,” Serrano said in his statement.
Serrano, who testified about the horrific attack at the trial, said he wished he could still play soccer or run up the stairs at school, but the reality was he was stuck in a wheelchair where he had to be carried to the beach.
Luis Serrano is paralyzed after being shot dead by MS-13 members. circulation
Another victim of Amador-Rios’ reign of terror – Wendy Bolanoes, who was robbed at gunpoint by MS-13 members acting at the leader’s discretion – wrote about how she suffered PTSD whenever customers walked into her store wearing masks and hoodies because of Amador -Rios worries about stealing “five dollars instead of getting a real job.”
“Your mother should not be proud of you,” he wrote.
Prosecutors said that Amador-Rios “manipulated” vulnerable young people into joining the gang to cause senseless “carnage” on the streets of Jamaica.
“He used his position of power to convince kids who idolized him to join the gang,” Karamigios said in Brooklyn federal court.
Victims continue to “live in fear” of retaliation from the gang, he added.
Police investigate the scene where Julio Vasquez’s body was found in Alley Pond Park in 2017. Ellis Kaplan
A jury found Amador-Rios guilty on August 8 of 17 of 18 charges including murder in aid of grazing and attempted murder in aid of grazing.
It came after a two-week trial in which jurors heard from several MS-13 snitches about CLS leaders’ lawless rules — including his own brother, who blamed him during his testimony.
“I love him dearly, you know, but faith has put us here. It’s not like I want to do what I’m doing now, but I can’t rot in prison,” Santos Amador-Rios’ brother said at the hearing. “He knows that and I know that I love him very much, but there’s nothing I can do.”
Amador-Rios — who goes by the nicknames “Lethal” and Pinky” — is a “corredor,” or leader of the Queens MS-13 gang called Centrales Locos Salvatruchas. Court Documents
Wearing a thicker beard and a dark brown prison jumpsuit, Amador-Rios chose not to speak during the sentencing, just smiling and waving to family members in the back row of the courtroom as he was led out as Judge Rachel P. Kovner handed down the sentence. entire life.
“The defendant deserves to serve life in prison for the murders, attempted murders and armed robberies he committed on behalf of MS-13,” US Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
“Today’s sentence reflects justice for the heinous and senseless nature of the defendant’s crimes and the violence he inflicted on his victims, their families and the community.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
