Leniz Escobar, an alleged associate of the MS-13 gang was found guilty on Monday in the 2017 murders of four men on Long Island, court documents show. Photo courtesy U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York/Twitter
April 11 (UPI) — An alleged associate of the MS-13 gang was found guilty on Monday in the 2017 murders of four men on Long Island, court documents show.
Leniz Escobar, 22, who also goes by the name “La Diablita,” which is Spanish for Little Devil, was convicted of racketeering, including predicate acts of murder, conspiracy to murder rival gang members, and obstruction of justice; and murder in aid of racketeering.
A federal jury in Central Islip, N.Y., returned the guilty verdict after a four-week trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Escobar will be sentenced at a later date but faces up to a life sentence.
She was convicted of playing a role in the deaths of Justin Llivicura, Michael Lopez, Jorge Tigre and Jefferson Villalobos. Escobar and her co-accused Keyli Gomez, lured the men to a Central Islip park on April 11, 2017.
The four were then confronted, attacked and eventually killed by members of the MS-13 gang, who believed the victims to be members of a rival gang.
More than a dozen MS-13 members and associates have been charged in connection with the murders.
Gomez pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in connection with the murders and is awaiting sentencing.
Escobar also destroyed evidence after the crime, disposing of a bloody sweatshirt. In the days following the murders, she also bragged to other MS-13 members about her role in the killings and discussed them in detail in recorded phone calls with her boyfriend.
“With today’s verdict, Escobar has been held responsible for the crucial role that she willingly played in orchestrating one of the most vicious and senseless mass murders in the district in memory,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
“The defendant showed utter disregard for human life by leading the victims into a killing field, to their slaughter, to enhance her stature with her fellow cold-blooded murderers within the MS-13 gang. It is my hope that Escobar’s conviction will bring some measure of closure to the relatives of the victims and serve as a warning to other gang members that this Office, together with our law enforcement partners, will not rest until everyone responsible for these murders is held accountable and the MS-13 no longer poses a danger to our district.”
