The leader of the notorious MS-13 gang who admitted to planning, authorizing or participating in at least seven murders in a federal racketeering case avoided the death penalty and life in prison under terms of a plea deal, authorities announced this week. did.
Jairo Saenz, 28, is expected to be sentenced to 40 to 60 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to seven counts of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder, and arson. Saenz's brother, Alexi, another gang leader, previously pleaded guilty to similar charges in exchange for an expected 70-year prison sentence.
According to federal authorities, the Saenz brothers were leaders of an MS-13 chapter in Suffolk County, New York, known as the Sailors. Their group was known for extreme brutality and violence, including killing two female students at Brentwood High School with machetes and baseball bats.
MS-13 gang leader pleads guilty to eight brutal murders, including those of two teens President Trump honored in Sotu speech
Kayla Cuevas, 16, and her friend Nisa Mickens, 15, were killed by MS-13 members in September 2016 in Brentwood, New York. (AP)
On September 13, 2016, Kayla Cuevas, 16, and Nisa Mickens, 15, were seen walking in their neighborhood and attacked. One of the girls criticized Sailors on Facebook. The gang killed them and left their bodies until they were discovered later.
Suffolk County Police have offered a $15,000 reward for information regarding the incident. Federal prosecutors and Immigration and Customs Enforcement subsequently became involved in a nationwide crackdown on MS-13 during President Trump's first term.
Given how barbaric these crimes are, killing young children with machetes and baseball bats, this is clearly a case that warrants the death penalty.
Lou Civello, president of the Suffolk County PBA, called the plea deal Wednesday “a disgrace. It's an insult to the family.” “Given how barbaric these crimes are, killing young children with machetes and baseball bats, this is clearly a case that warrants the death penalty.”
Civello told Fox News Digital that if Saenz serves the lower end of his sentence, he will serve less than six years for each murder.
“We always appreciate our partnership with the federal government and the resources they bring to the table, but we also need justice, and that's an important part,” he said. “If it is true justice, this person should never see the light of day again. He should never have the opportunity to walk or return to our city.”
Charged with murder of anti-gang crusader who lost daughter
Alexi Saenz (left) and Jairo Saenz book photos taken after their arrest. Both brothers admitted to being MS-13 leaders and killers in a federal racketeering case. (U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York)
“The Saenz brothers no longer faced the possibility of the death penalty,” a U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Our office was directed by the U.S. Attorney General in 2023 not to seek fines in the event of a capital count conviction.”
During the preliminary hearing, Saenz, his brother and another gang member joked and laughed in court as the girls' families watched in the audience, Fox News Digital reported in 2018. It is said that he was
Attention: MS-13 members show no remorse for murder
“For too long, MS-13 has implemented its own version of the death penalty,” Robert Capers, then-U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said at the time of his arrest.
Now, his predecessors have taken the mastermind's death off the table, and outgoing President Biden has commuted the death sentences of 37 of the 40 federal death row inmates.
Federal prosecutors say the gangs frequently drove around the city looking for rivals to kill, sometimes in broad daylight, sometimes luring or ambushing their victims. However, it is unclear how many of those attacked were actually gang members.
Memorial to best friends Neesa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas in Brentwood, New York, September 27, 2016. Near the site where the body was discovered. (AP Photo/Claudia Torrence, File)
In one incident, Saenz helped organize the murder of a man who was using a football uniform as a symbol for another gang. On January 30, 2017, a masked gunman crept up behind Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla, 29, as he waited in line at a deli. They shot him in the back of the head, and the bullet exited, wounding the woman at the counter.
MS-13 violence on Long Island has gotten so bad that during President Trump's first term, he made in-person visits to meet with the families of Cuevas, Mickens and other victims, and removed the gang from the organization. He asked then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions for help. He said he was using immigration “loopholes” to bring members to the U.S. on the streets.
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MS-13 gang member Alexi Saenz is taken into custody and then escorted by FBI agents to Central Islip, New York. (James Carbone/Newsday, via AP, File)
During the meeting, he described MS-13 as “a ruthless gang that has violated borders and turned once-peaceful regions into bloody killing fields.”
Thousands of members were deported due to federal oppression at the time. Saenz and his group went to trial, and former Attorney General Bill Barr's office later announced that it would seek the death penalty.
Cuevas' mother, Evelyn Rodriguez, became a fierce anti-gang activist but died before she could be brought to justice. She was hit near her daughter's memorial in 2018, and the driver was found guilty of manslaughter.
President Trump speaks alongside Evelyn Rodriguez, whose daughter was killed by members of the MS-13 gang, during a debate on immigration at the Morely Homeland Security Center in Bethpage, New York, on May 23, 2018. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
In 2023, then-U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace told a judge that Biden's attorney general, Merrick Garland, had directed him to stop pursuing the death penalty. Mr. Peace resigned on Friday and was replaced by Acting U.S. Attorney Carolyn Pokorny, who is expected to hold the position until Mr. Trump's nominee, Joseph Nocera Jr., is confirmed.
Trump swore In addition to ending Biden's moratorium on the death penalty, it also seeks to expand the list of crimes that can be punishable by the death penalty, including child rape, human trafficking, and the murder of an American citizen by an illegal immigrant. Thirteen federal inmates were executed during Trump's first term, the most under any president in decades, but Biden suspended executions after taking office in 2021.
Experts told Fox News Digital that while the agreement is lenient, it could have materialized for a variety of reasons, including if Saenz agreed to cooperate against his co-conspirators. Avoiding a trial would also reduce the use of government resources and prevent the victim's family from having to relive the horror in court or watch the killer keep grinning and joking.
Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, September 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Still, prosecutors could have sought a harsher punishment instead of seeking the death penalty.
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“This is a very lenient sentence given the facts of this case,” said David Gelman, a New Jersey-based defense attorney and former prosecutor.
“The only plea deal I've proposed is life in prison without the possibility of parole. Here, these gang members not only have a chance to get out of prison while they're alive, but they'll probably get out sooner.” ”This is the verdict they expected. ”
Civello also mentioned the new threat of the Venezuelan prison gang Torren de Aragua, but said he hoped new leadership would improve security across the country after Trump's inauguration on Monday. said.
