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Luis Alejandro Varela, age 24, of Mineola, was sentenced to 21 years to life in prison and 27-year-old William Reyes-Fuentes, of Uniondale, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the murder of Carlos Rivas-Majano, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced on Tuesday, Aug. 9.
Varela and Reyes-Fuentes pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree conspiracy on Friday, June 24, the DA's Office said.
“MS-13 members Luis Alejandro Varela and William Reyes-Fuentes participated in one of the most violent murders this county has ever seen,” Donnelly said. “The defendants and their co-conspirators mercilessly hacked Carlos Rivas-Majano to death and left his body in a nearly inaccessible place near the Meadowbrook Parkway. Thanks to extraordinary work from our prosecutors and detectives, we were able to find Carlos’ body and bring his killers to justice.”
On Aug. 11, 2017, Rivas-Majano told a family member he was heading home from a Uniondale deli, but he never returned, Donnelly said.
Rivas-Majano was a perceived enemy of MS-13, and he was lured into the woods near the Meadowbrook Parkway and Glenn Curtiss Boulevard in Uniondale, where a group of men killed him, according to the announcement.
His body was recovered on Aug. 29, 2018, the DA's Office said.
Cases against co-defendants Carlos Benitez-Hernandez, Jose Quintanilla-Cruz, and Nerlin Chacon-Ruano are pending, Donnelly reported.
Another co-defendant, Edar Ventura, was sentenced to 32 years to life in prison in 2019 after he pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and other charges for the deaths of Rivas-Majano and Alexon Moya, the DA's Office said.
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