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Leniz Escobar, who was also known as “La Diablita,” or “The Little Devil” was found guilty of orchestrating a 2017 massacre in Suffolk County to gain favor as an associate for the gang before claiming to be a victim of the attack.
Specifically, Escobar was convicted of racketeering, including predicate acts of:
- Murder;
- Conspiracy to murder rival gang members;
- Obstruction of justice;
- Murder in aid of racketeering.
The charges were all in connection with her participation in the April 11, 2017 murders of Justin Llivicura, Michael Lopez, Jorge Tigre, and Jefferson Villalobos.
US Attorney Breon Peace said that on the day of the murder, Escobar and a co-conspirator, Keyli Gomez, lured five young men, including the four murder victims, into a Central Islip park, where they were attacked by members of MS-13.
The MS-13 members believed the victims to be members of a rival gang, at least two of whom had disrespected the MS-13 by posting photos on social media in which they wore certain items and flashed hand signs that signified membership in the MS-13 gang, officials said.
Escobar and Gomez showed the gang-related photos to members of the MS-13, who confirmed the men did not belong to MS-13, and it was decided that they would be killed
Peace said that Gomez testified at the trial that she and Escobar drove with the victims to the park, led them to a predetermined wooded area, and sent the MS-13 members text messages notifying them of their arrival.
The MS-13 members and associates proceeded to that location and circled the victims, prosecutors said.
One of the intended victims immediately fled and was able to escape, Peace said. Llivicura, Lopez, Tigre, and Villalobos were surrounded by MS-13 members, who attacked them with machetes, knives, an axe, and wooden clubs.
After the attack, the MS-13 members dragged the victims’ bodies to a more secluded spot in the woods, piled them up, and then fled.
The bodies were found the following day.
Prosecutors said that in the days following the murders, Escobar bragged to other MS-13 members about her role in the killings and, in recorded calls with her boyfriend, who was a high-ranking member of the Brentwood clique, discussed the attack in detail.
Peace said that using barely coded language, and referring to the victims who were killed, she said, “four individuals took the train and who knows when they’ll be back, got me?”
Escobar then shared how that plan went awry when one person escaped, adding “But one of them, one of them managed to still be here on the map,” and “he knows stuff about me.”
In a separate call, Escobar told her boyfriend that she was “happy for this to happen.”
Of the four victims, she said they were “never coming back . . . somewhere else . . . seeing the light . . . no more . . . out of here . . . not on the map.”
Peace said that additionally, Escobar destroyed evidence of her involvement in the murders by disposing of a sweatshirt stained with the blood of a victim, tossing her cell phone from a moving vehicle when she was being followed by the police, and falsely telling detectives that she and Gomez were victims of a random robbery in the park on the night of the murders.
“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,” Peace said. “(Escobar) 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.”
Gomez previously pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in connection with the murders and is awaiting sentencing. More than a dozen MS-13 members and associates have been charged in connection with the April 11, 2017 murders.
"As proven at trial, Ms. Escobar played a crucial role in a heinous and senseless crime, the 2017 slayings of four young men believed by MS-13 to be members of a rival gang," FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll said. "Subsequent to the murders she continued to demonstrate her callous disregard for human life when she boasted about her role in the killings to enhance her stature within the gang.
" While nothing can bring the victims back, it is our hope that today’s verdict can bring their families a measure of comfort, knowing justice has been served."
“Today’s verdict sends a clear message that those who associate with a gang will be held accountable for their involvement with gang activity,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison stated. “Escobar showed a complete disregard for human life and put her allegiance to the gang ahead of the rule of law. "
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