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Kevin Torres, also known as “Sarco,” faced his conviction on Wednesday, June 5 after a trial in which the jury deliberated for less than an hour, the Nassau County District Attorney announced.
Torres, reportedly a member of the MS-13 gang, was one of multiple men involved in the murder of 18-year-old Daniel Garcia-Carbajal.
On the morning of March 1, 2021, Garcia-Carbajal was lured via a text on Facebook Messenger to Cow Meadow Park in Freeport. He was a perceived enemy of MS-13 because of his previous social media posts.
The message promised the teen that he would be able to meet up with girls in the park.
That afternoon, Garcia-Carbajal was picked up in a car and taken to Cow Meadow Park with Torres and his co-defendants. After the teen entered the park, he was shot and killed with a single bullet to the head.
Torres was given the gun and buried it in a co-defendant’s yard after the murder.
Garcia-Carbajal was reported missing by a family member and his body was found in the park the following day.
“Kevin Torres was instrumental in the murder of a teenage victim and conspiracy to conceal the crime,” said District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly.
“Daniel Garcia-Carbajal thought he was going to spend an afternoon partying with friends and a few girls when he was persuaded to take a drive with Torres to Cow Meadow Park. Instead, the young man was brutally murdered for social media posts that were seen by MS-13 as disrespecting the gang.”
She added that her office would continue to “aggressively prosecute these cases to ensure MS-13 never regains its foothold in our communities.”
Torres was arrested on October 26, 2021.
He was found guilty of murder and both first- and second-degree conspiracy. All three counts are felonies.
At his sentencing, which is scheduled for Wednesday, July 10, he faces up to 25 years to life.
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