A New York MS-13 gang leader ordered the brutal death of a 16-year-old, and then the judge made sure he would never walk free again.
United States District Judge Rachel P. Kovner sentenced Melvi Amador-Rios to life in federal prison for the gruesome stabbing death of 16-year-old Julio Vasquez. After a three-week trial, Amador-Rios was found guilty and convicted by a jury of racketeering, murder-in-aid of racketeering, attempted murder-in-aid-of racketeering, assault-in-aid-of racketeering, Hobbs Act robbery, and other firearms charges.
“The defendant will deservedly serve a life sentence for the murder, attempted murder, and armed robberies he committed on behalf of MS-13. Today’s sentence reflects justice for the heinous and senseless nature of the defendant’s crimes and the terror he inflicted on his victims, their families, and the community,” said United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
On May 21, 2017, a bird watcher in Alley Pond Park in Queens alerted authorities after sighting the decomposing remains of a male, later identified as Vasquez. An autopsy revealed the victim had been stabbed over 30 times. According to prosecutors, the 32-year-old Amador-Rios, who was the leader of the Centrales Locos Salvatruchas (CLS), a clique of La Mara Salvatrucha, a.k.a. MS-13, had ordered Vasquez to kill a fellow gang member because he was suspected of being a cooperating witness for the authorities. However, when the victim refused, the defendant ordered Vasquez, who he also believed had fraternized with members of a rival gang, to be lured by other associates to the park, where he was brutally stabbed and almost decapitated.
“They didn’t kill an animal — they killed my son, and I want justice. I hope they stay and rot in jail,” stated Vasquez’s mother, Bertha Palaguachi, reported the New York Post.
In addition, on Oct. 23, 2016, Amador-Rios ordered the killing of a member of the 18th Street rival gang. The victim was beaten and shot in the head once because the gun used malfunctioned. However, the victim survived the ordeal but was left paralyzed.
Kovner sentenced Amador-Rios to an additional 158 years in prison for the other charges. He was ordered to serve the sentences consecutively.
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