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MS-13 Leader Admits To 7 Brutal Murders, Including Long Island High School Students

An MS-13 leader formally confessed to his role in seven murders and other violent crimes that devastated Long Island.

From left: Nisa Mickens, Jairo Saenz, and Kayla Cuevas.

From left: Nisa Mickens, Jairo Saenz, and Kayla Cuevas.

Photo Credit: Suffolk County Police // US Attorney's Office

Jairo Saenz, 28, also known as “Funny,” pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in Central Islip federal court on Tuesday, Jan. 14.

Saenz, a high-ranking member of the MS-13 gang’s Brentwood/Central Islip Sailors clique, admitted to taking part in a reign of terror that included the murders of 14-year-old Nisa Mickens and 15-year-old Kayla Cuevas in September 2016, prosecutors said.

The Brentwood High School students were brutally attacked with a machete and baseball bats after gang members identified Cuevas as a rival during a dispute.

Saenz also admitted to the following murders:

Michael Johnson, 29, killed on Jan. 28, 2016, in Brentwood. Saenz and other MS-13 members ambushed Johnson in the woods, attacking him with a baseball bat, knife, and machete. His body was found days later.

Oscar Acosta, 19, murdered on April 29, 2016, in Brentwood. Believed to have associated with a rival gang, Acosta was lured to a wooded area, beaten unconscious, and hacked to death with a machete. His body was buried in a shallow grave.

Javier Castillo, 15, killed on Oct. 10, 2016. Castillo was lured to Cow Meadow Park in Freeport under the pretense of smoking marijuana and was fatally attacked with a machete before being buried in a marsh.

Dewann Stacks, 34, murdered on Oct. 13, 2016, in Brentwood. Believed to be a rival gang member, Stacks was beaten and hacked to death on American Boulevard.

Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla, 29, shot dead on January 30, 2017, inside a Central Islip deli. Mistakenly identified as a rival gang member because of his jersey number, Alvarado-Bonilla was shot multiple times in front of other customers.

Marcus Bohannon, 27, murdered on September 5, 2016, in Central Islip. Saenz’s crew spotted Bohannon walking and, suspecting he was a rival, shot him nine times.

Saenz also admitted to participating in the arson of a vehicle in Brentwood in September 2016 and conspiring to kill additional rivals. He was involved in a narcotics trafficking ring that funded the gang’s violent activities.

“Today, Jairo Saenz pleaded guilty to seven murders that can only be described as barbaric, and multiple acts of senseless gang violence that had turned parts of Long Island into a war zone, with MS-13 gang members wielding guns, machetes, bats and fire that threatened the safety of our communities,” said Acting US Attorney Carolyn Pokorny.

“It is my sincere hope that today’s guilty plea brings some measure of solace and closure to the families of the defendant’s victims who continue to mourn the deaths of their loved ones.”

Saenz faces 40 to 60 years in prison under the terms of his plea agreement. His sentencing is scheduled for later this year.

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