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Jose Omar Sorto Portillo, age 18, pleaded guilty to a charge of murder in aid of racketeering in the 2019 murder of Jasson Medrano-Molina, according to Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
“With today’s guilty plea, the defendant admitted to shooting a 15-year-old alleged rival gang member to death at close range in a meaningless effort to boost his status as an MS-13 gang member,” Peace said. “This Office, in partnership with the Long Island Gang Task Force, will continue to work tirelessly to prevent these senseless killings and eliminate gang violence that is endangering our communities.”
In July and August of 2019, Portillo, of Central Islip, and other members and associates of MS-13 were seeking to attack and kill people they believed were rival gang members, the US Attorney's Office said.
On Aug. 7, 2019, Portillo and two co-conspirators lured Medrano-Molina and two other people to a wooded area in Central Islip, Peace said.
When Medrano-Molina arrived, Portillo shot him multiple times, and the 15-year-old died at the scene, Peace reported.
The other two people were able to escape.
Portillo was 16 years old at the time of the murder, and prior to pleading guilty, he agreed to be transferred to adult status in the case, the US Attorney's Office said.
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