Mom of Bronx gang-murder victim Lesandro Guzman-Feliz screams at accused killers in courtroom confrontation
The mother of a Bronx teen hacked to death by machete-wielding gang members howled in anger and anguish Wednesday at two of the accused killers.
“Asesino!” shouted Leandra Guzman, using the Spanish word for “killer” during a hearing for murder suspects Jonaiki Martinez Estrella and Daniel Fernandez. Her son Lesandro (Junior) Guzman-Feliz was brutally slain in a June 20 case of mistaken identity by members of the Trinitarios gang, authorities charged.
The victim’s mother — wearing a black shirt and a button bearing a picture of her slain son — was led from the courtroom by relatives after the emotional outburst. She stayed outside for a short time and returned for the rest of the hearing after regaining her composure.
As the morning court session stretched toward the afternoon, with the defendants appearing in pairs, Guzman kept her head tilted toward the courtroom floor while biting her fingernails.
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The first eight of the 11 defendants due in Bronx Criminal Court entered pleas of not guilty in the case. Each suspect, wearing beige prison-issued outfits, stood silently as defense attorneys spoke on their behalf.
Authorities charged a dozen gang members in connection with the brutal execution of the 15-year-old aspiring police officer. The suspects yanked the badly outnumbered youth from a Bronx bodega and delivered him to his death at the hands of gang-bangers with knives and a machete, cops said.
The 12th suspect in the cruel attack was arrested last week in Connecticut and was the only one of the suspects not scheduled for a Wednesday court appearance.
The arrest of Luis Cabrarasantos, 25, of the Bronx, was the last one anticipated in the case, police said. A tip led cops to the suspect, who was ordered held on $1 million bond before his extradition to the Bronx.
