MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced to 55 Years in Prison for the Murders of Four Young Men in a Central Islip Park

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, Omar Antonio Villalta, also known as “Anticristo,” a member of the Guanacos Lil Cycos Salvatruchas (Guanacos) clique of the violent transnational criminal organization La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, was sentenced by United States District Judge Gary R. Brown to 55 years’ imprisonment. On May 26, 2023, Villalta pleaded guilty to racketeering, including predicate acts of murder and conspiracy to murder rival gang members.  The charges stemmed from his involvement in the April 11, 2017 murders of Justin Llivicura, Michael Lopez, Jorge Tigre, and Jefferson Villalobos, who were hacked to death in a Central Islip park, and his involvement in the July 3, 2017 murder of Marvin Rivera Guevara, in Charlottsville, Virginia.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Kevin Catalina, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the sentence.

“My Office and our law enforcement partners have worked endlessly to hold MS-13 accountable for their unspeakable crimes and the harm they’ve caused to countless victims and their loved ones,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “This sentencing and others demonstrate our relentless pursuit to dismantle MS-13 and other violent criminal organizations in totality.”

“Omar Antonio Villalta, an MS-13 member, repeatedly played judge, jury, and executioner by unlawfully issuing death sentences to five victims perceived to be disrespectful or rivals to the gang,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “These slaughters reflect the gang’s gruesome retributive tactics while demonstrating utter disregard for life with the rapid succession of murders.  May today’s legitimate sentencing reflect the FBI's steadfast commitment to dismantling any gang from plaguing our communities with rampant violence.”

“The torture carried out at the hands of Villalta was inconceivable and sadistic— all because of his devotion to MS-13,” stated Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina.  “His crimes sent shock waves through our communities but thanks to our collaboration with our law enforcement partners, Villalta was apprehended, and we will continue to target violent gang members who are a threat public safety.”

As set forth in the government’s sentencing memorandum, prior court filings, and statements during the sentencing, Llivicura, Lopez, Tigre, and Villalobos were lured to their deaths by Villalta and more than a dozen other members and associates of the MS-13.  Specifically, the victims were led to a community park in Central Islip (the Park) by two female associates of the MS-13, Leniz Escobar and Keyli Gomez, where they were attacked by members and associates of the gang, including Josue Portillo, Freiry Martinez, Alexis Hernandez, Edwin Rodriguez, Sergio Segovia-Pineda, Henry Salmeron, Anderson Sanchez, and others.

The MS-13 members believed the victims to be members of a rival gang and at least two of the victims had offended the MS-13 by posting photos on social media in which they wore certain items and flashed hand signs that signified membership in the MS-13 gang.  After the gang-related photos were brought to their attention by Escobar and Gomez, Villalta and several other MS-13 members formulated and carried out a plan to kill the victims.  On the night of the murders, Villalta and more than a dozen other MS-13 members and associates gathered in the woods adjacent to the Park.   Once there, the members who had been planning the attack, including Villalta, instructed the others to prepare themselves, as the female associates were luring a group of rivals to the Park for them to attack and kill.

Villalta distributed weapons to certain gang members, including knives and machetes, while others took clubs made of tree limbs as the group waited for the victims to arrive.  Meanwhile, Escobar and Gomez met the victims, drove with them to the Park, led them to a predetermined wooded area, and sent the MS-13 members text-messages notifying them of their arrival.  The MS-13 members and associates proceeded to the designated location and encircled the victims under the cover of darkness.  One of the intended victims immediately fled and was able to escape. Llivicura, Lopez, Tigre, and Villalobos were surrounded by the MS-13 members, who attacked them with machetes, knives, an axe, and wooden clubs.  After the attack, the MS-13 members dragged the victims’ bodies to a more secluded spot in the woods, piled them up, and fled.  The victims’ bodies were discovered the following evening.

Following the murders, Villalta fled to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he connected with local MS-13 members.  He soon began work at a pizzeria with a fellow MS-13 member. Within days of starting work, Villalta reported to other MS-13 members, including the leader of the Guanacos clique, that a co-worker, Marvin Rivera Guevara, had flashed an 18th Street gang hand sign indicating his membership in one of the MS-13’s principal rivals.  Villalta was given authorization to kill the victim and a plan was quickly developed to carry out the murder.  On the evening of July 3, 2017, the MS-13 member who worked at the pizzeria convinced the victim to drive with him to a remote location under the guise of smoking marijuana and meeting women.  Once they arrived at the designated location, Villalta and other MS-13 members forced the victim at gunpoint deeper into the woods where they attacked him with a machete and knives. Villalta and the others then threw the victim’s body off a nearby bridge into the river below.

More than a dozen MS-13 members and associates have been charged in connection with the April 11, 2017 quadruple murder, including the individuals listed above.  Of these defendants, Villalta is the sixth person to be sentenced.  Josue Portillo was sentenced to 55 years’ imprisonment; Freiry Martinez to 50 years’ imprisonment; Leniz Escobar to 50 years’ imprisonment; Anderson Sanchez to 32 years’ imprisonment; and Alexis Hernandez to 29 years’ imprisonment. The remaining defendants are awaiting sentence.

Today’s sentencing is the latest in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York targeting members of MS-13.  Since 2010, the Office has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 70 murders in the Eastern District of New York, resulting in the convictions of dozens of MS-13 leaders and members in connection with those murders.  These prosecutions are the product of investigations led by the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers of the FBI, SCPD, Nassau County Police Department, Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, Suffolk County Probation Office, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police, the Hempstead Police Department, the Rockville Centre Police Department, and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

This case is also part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and other transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.  Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Project Safe Neighborhood.

The government’s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division.  Assistant United States Attorneys Paul G. Scotti, Justina L. Geraci, and Megan E. Farrell are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Automated Litigation Support Specialist Michael Compitello.

The Defendant:

OMAR ANTONIO VILLALTA (also known as “Anticristo”)
Age: 29
Central Islip, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-403 (S-8) (GRB)