The Long Island woman dubbed MS-13’s “Little Devil” — who was found guilty of luring four young men to die at the hands of the brutal gang — is trying to overturn her conviction, claiming the feds failed to prove her motive in the gruesome murders.
Leniz “Diablita” Escobar’s attorney argued Thursday that prosecutors had failed to show at trial that their client intended to advance his position in the gang — but a federal judge didn’t seem convinced.
“The jury can infer what a person’s motives are,” Judge Joseph Bianco said during the trial Cin Islip federal court where the 23-year-old man’s defense attorney argued in favor of throwing out his guilty verdicts on charges of murder and extortion.
A jury during Escobar’s trial in April 2022 saw evidence that the 17-year-old convinced other members of the MS-13 crew to commit the murder by showing them photos on social media of the victim “taunting” them by throwing gang signs.
Escobar, who goes by the name “Diablita” or “little devil” on social media, later smiled as MS-13 gang members hacked the four men to death with machetes — even “licking the blood off his lips” during the April 11, 2017 massacre , the witness testified.
But Escobar’s lawyers argued the jury was “unfounded” in finding that prosecutors had established motive, which is necessary to convict him of violating the federal Violent Crimes in Support of Racketeering, or VICAR, law.
Escobar faces life in prison on charges stemming from the quadruple murder.SMoore-Glasgow
Escobar calls himself “Diablita,” Spanish for “little devil,” on social media.Dennis A. Clark
“They just assumed that his motive was to improve his position in MS-13,” Escobar’s attorney Jesse Siegel said of the jury.
Bianco, who presided over Escobar’s trial, said that the “absence of some direct statements” indicating a motive did not mean that the government failed to prove why he had framed the men for their deaths.
“The testimony was that the motive for the killing was disrespect for the group in terms of what was posted on Facebook,” the judge said.
“Why couldn’t the jury conclude that he brought the alleged disrespect to the attention of the group, that he told other members of the group that they should [retaliate] because they are tough?”
Miguel Lopez, 20, Justin Llivicura, 16, and Jefferson Villalobos and Jose Tigre, both 18, were all killed in the machete massacre.
Escobar’s lawyers also claimed that prosecutors failed to turn over evidence that could have helped his defense, including a note from his ex-boyfriend, Sergio Vladimir Segovia Pineda, stating that a young woman in the same position as Escobar, also nicknamed “Diablita,” had been raped by members of the MS -13.
These notes, argued Escobar’s other attorney, Keith White, would help convince jurors that Escobar should not be found guilty of the violent crime spree because his real motivation was fear — not ambition.
Federal prosecutor Justina Geraci countered that Pineda was not one of the government’s most important witnesses, and there was no evidence Escobar even knew about the alleged rape.
“I respectfully state that we can win this trial without Segovia Pineda,” said Geraci.
Bianco is expected to make a decision on Escobar’s motion at a later date.
16-year-old Justin Llivicura was among the victims in the gruesome machete murder.AP
Escobar was convicted on April 11, 2022 of charges stemming from the massacre in which the victims – who believed they had met him to smoke weed in a local park – were instead ambushed and hacked to death by thugs in what prosecutors called “horrific”. frenzy of violence.”
The mangled bodies of Miguel Lopez, 20, Justin Llivicura, 16, and Jefferson Villalobos and Jose Tigre, both 18, were left in a pool of blood and found nearby the next day.
The fifth intended victim, Elmer Alexander Arteaga Ruiz, now 22, ran for his life and managed to escape — before testifying against Escobar at trial.
MS-13, a notoriously violent gang also known as La Mara Salvatrucha, was founded by Central American immigrants in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Since then its reach has expanded worldwide — including with a large presence on Long Island.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
