57°
Raul Ponce, age 23, of Hempstead, pleaded not guilty to the new charges on Thursday, Nov. 11, bringing the total number of murder charges he is facing to four.
Following his plea in court, Det. Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick, commander of the Nassau County Police Department's homicide squad, said at a news conference that Ponce had always been "on the radar," for the killings that took place a couple of years ago.
The El Salvador native has been in prison on Long Island since 2018, police said.
The new charges are related to the October 2016 murder of 19-year-old Osmin Campos-Sandoval and the March 2017 murder of Nelson Rodriguez, age 37, of Hempstead.
Several people have already been charged with the murder of Campos-Sandoval, including an ex-girlfriend who dated him in their native El Salvador.
Rodriguez, an auto bodyworker was walking home from work when he was targeted by gang members "looking for someone to kill," authorities said.
Campos-Sandoval, a member of the 18th Street gang, a rival of MS-13, was killed in 2016 after MS-13 members posed as fellow gang members and smoked pot with him to make him feel comfortable, police said at the time.
“They butchered him, hit him, and buried him,” police said, with Campos-Sandoval’s remains being found in October 2020 near the water tower.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Suffolk and receive free news updates.
