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MS-13 Members Charged For Murder That Killed Innocent Bystander On Long Island

Seven years after a 24-year-old man was killed and another was wounded in an unprovoked shooting on Long Island, three MS-13 gang members are facing federal charges in the attack.

Kenneth Evans, Jr was shot to death at age 24 on Gibson Avenue in Brentwood in November 2015 by a suspected MS-13 gang member.

Kenneth Evans, Jr was shot to death at age 24 on Gibson Avenue in Brentwood in November 2015 by a suspected MS-13 gang member.

Photo Credit: Google Maps street view/gunmemorial.org

Kenneth Evans, Jr. was shot multiple times in Brentwood in November 2015 as he walked with two friends on Gibson Avenue, according to police. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another victim was shot in the head but survived, while a third man escaped without injury, police said.

On Tuesday, Nov. 8, the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District announced that three members of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, had been charged in the killing.

The suspects were identified as Roberto Antonio Abrego-Reyes, age 28, of Flushing and Hempstead; Miguel Angel Alfaro-Santos, age 26, of Flushing; and Jose Benedicto Baires-Novoa, age 26, of Flushing and Brentwood.

Federal prosecutors said the three men set out on the evening of Nov. 28, 2015, to “put in work” for the MS-13 gang, meaning to go hunting for rival members to target and kill.

Armed with .38 and 9mm handguns, they drove around Brentwood looking for targets before spotting Evans and his friends walking near Gibson Avenue and Dolce Street, investigators said.

Although they didn’t know the victims, prosecutors said the suspects wrongly presumed they were members of a rival gang.

According to prosecutors, Alfaro-Santos and another MS-13 member got out of the car and approached the three victims armed with a handgun while Abrego-Reyes, Baires-Novoa, and another MS-13 member kept an eye out for police.

Alfaro-Santos and the other MS-13 member then walked up behind the victims before opening fire, prosecutors said.

After the killing, the suspects were picked up by the others and fled the scene, according to police.

Baires-Novoa, a member of the Guanacos Lil Cycos Salvatruchas (Guanacos) clique of MS-13, was arrested by the FBI in Brentwood on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. Following his arraignment in federal court in Central Islip, he was ordered jailed while he awaits trial.

Alfaro-Santos, who is also a member of the Guanacos clique, made his federal court appearance Tuesday, Nov. 8, in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He was ordered removed to the Eastern District of New York to face charges.

Abrego-Reyes, a member of the Indios Locos Salvatruchas (ILS) clique of MS-13, is already in state custody at the Nassau County jail. He is expected to be transferred to federal custody and arraigned at a later date.

“With these arrests, we are holding the defendants accountable for senselessly shooting two innocent bystanders, striking one in the head and killing the other, leaving fear and grief in their wake,” US Attorney Breon Peace said.

“This should serve as a warning, that there is no amount of time that will stop this Office from pursuing justice to keep our communities safe.”

If convicted, each defendant faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison or the death penalty. 

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