MS-13 Gang Members Charged In Superseding Indictment for Crimes of Deadly Violence in Nassau County

Earlier today, a 17-count superseding indictment was unsealed in federal court in Central Islip charging seven members of the violent transnational criminal organization La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, with multiple racketeering offenses including two murders, one attempted murder, murder conspiracies, a narcotics trafficking conspiracy and related firearms offenses (the “Superseding Indictment”).  Two of those defendants, William Lainez-Duran, also known as “Chino” and “Spanky,” and Elvin Eulises Vasquez-Lopez, also known as “Pikachu,” were arrested this morning in Hempstead, New York and will be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Steven L. Tiscione.  Another defendant, Jose Omar Yanes-Romero, also known as “Jose Pineda,” “Chino” and “Iron,” was arrested this morning in Culpeper, Virginia, and will be arraigned at the Charlottesville federal courthouse in the Western District of Virginia. Two of the remaining three defendants are in custody on criminal charges, and the third is in immigration custody and will be arraigned at a later date.

Defendants Henry Aquino-Hernandez, also known as “Zancudo,” an associate of the Herndon City clique, Yanes-Romero, a member of the Coronados clique and Lainez-Duran, a member of the Hempstead clique, have been charged with participating in the July 19, 2022 murder of Walter Ochoa. Defendant Gerson Hernandez, also known as “Steven Jefferson,” “Jeffrey,” “Serio,” “Serioso” and “Necio,” a member of the Hempstead clique, was previously charged with participating in the murder.  Henry Canales, also known as “Thunder” and “Cruzito,” a member of the Coronados clique who is currently in New York State custody, has been charged with a related murder conspiracy, as well as with being an accessory after the fact. Additionally, Jairo Cornejo-Crespin, also known as “Flaco,” a member of the Hempstead clique, has been charged with a December 15, 2023 attempted murder, which occurred adjacent to Hempstead High School.  Separately, Canales and Vasquez-Lopez, a member of the Coronados clique, are charged with a May and June 2022 conspiracy to murder rival gang members.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), William S. Walker, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), Anne T. Donnelly, Nassau County District Attorney and Patrick J. Ryder, Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), announced the charges. 

“The racketeering offenses alleged in the superseding indictment, including murder, murder conspiracies, drug trafficking, and a brazen shooting outside Hempstead High School at dismissal time demonstrate the MS-13 gang members’ brutality and utter disregard for human life,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “The relentless efforts of the prosecutors in my Office and our local and federal law enforcement partners to bring these offenders to justice will help reduce violence on Long Island and make our communities safer.”

Mr. Peace expressed his appreciation to the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia, the Richmond Division of the FBI, the Culpeper County Sheriff's Office and the Culpeper Police Department.

“These six MS-13 members allegedly conducted a series of retaliatory murders, shootings, and drug trafficking in furtherance of the gang’s nefarious tactics and criminal operations on Long Island,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Dennehy. “This alleged violence recklessly jeopardized public safety as it encroached on neighborhoods, school properties, and recreational spaces, placing innocent bystanders in the crosshairs. With the assistance of our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners, the FBI will continue to dismantle all MS-13 cliques plaguing our communities.”

“Today’s charges underscore our unwavering focus on public safety and the continued collaboration with our law enforcement partners to address the threat posed by MS-13 to Long Island communities.  HSI New York will not stand idly by as the MS-13 gang attempts to strengthen its presence in Nassau County,” stated HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Walker.  “With each new indictment, we continue to whittle away at MS-13 on Long Island and at its false notion of impunity from the law.”

“For years, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office has worked with our federal and local law enforcement partners to cripple MS-13 and other criminal organizations and has successfully diminished their impact in our communities,” stated Nassau County District Attorney Donnelly.  “The defendants targeted in this wide-ranging indictment have been involved in multiple violent crimes in Hempstead and ruthless gang violence that has cost so many individuals their lives. We will continue to collaborate with our federal and local partners to take down dangerous gang members and protect our residents.”

As set forth in the superseding indictment and a detention memorandum filed earlier today, six defendants are charged with participating in the July 19, 2022 murder of Ochoa in Uniondale Park in Uniondale, New York.  Ochoa was targeted by the MS-13 because he was suspected of being a member of a rival street gang.   Hernandez, Aquino-Hernandez, Canales, Lainez-Duran, Vasquez-Lopez, Yanes-Romero and other MS-13 members also allegedly plotted the murder in retaliation for the killing of an MS-13 member 11 days earlier, which the MS-13 blamed on the 18th Street gang.  On the evening of July 19, Ochoa was with another individual in Uniondale Park when they were approached by Hernandez, Yanes-Romero and a third MS-13 member who were armed with a .45 caliber handgun and at least one knife.  The three gang members shot Ochoa to death and stabbed him in the neck, and then fled the park.

The superseding indictment also charges Cornejo-Crespin, who was previously charged in Nassau County and is currently incarcerated, with an attempted murder in Hempstead.  Specifically, on December 15, 2023, near Hempstead High School, Cornejo-Crespin used a 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol bearing no make, model or serial number (also known as a “ghost gun”) to shoot an 18-year-old male that he believed to be a rival gang member.  The victim was shot five times but survived.  The shooting took place at approximately 3:22 p.m., shortly after school dismissal, when numerous students were walking around the neighboring area.

Finally, the superseding indictment charges six of the defendants with conspiring to distribute cocaine and marijuana.  These charges stem from the MS-13 cliques’ street-level sales of cocaine and marijuana on Long Island, the proceeds of which were used to help finance the MS-13’s criminal operations including purchasing firearms, ammunition and other weapons and sending money to MS-13 leadership in Central America.

The superseding indictment 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 the MS-13, a violent transnational criminal organization.  The MS-13’s leadership traditionally has been based in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, but the organization also has thousands of members and an increasing number of leaders in the United States.  With numerous branches, or “cliques,” the MS-13 is the most violent criminal organization on Long Island.  Since 2003, hundreds of MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York. A majority of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges for participating in murders, attempted murders and assaults.  Since 2010 alone, this Office has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 70 murders in the Eastern District of New York, and it has convicted 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, comprising agents and officers of the FBI, the NCPD, the Suffolk County Police Department, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, the Suffolk County Probation 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.

If convicted, Hernandez, Aquino-Hernandez, Lainez-Duran and Yanes-Romero face up to life in prison, or the death penalty; Cornejo-Crespin faces up to life in prison; Canales faces up to 55 years in prison; and Vasquez-Lopez face up to 50 years in prison.  The charges in the superseding indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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

New Defendants:

HENRY AQUINO-HERNANDEZ (also known as “Zancudo”)
Age: 20
Bowling Green, Virginia (formerly of Uniondale, New York)

HENRY CANALES (also known as “Thunder” and “Cruzito”)
Age: 24
Auburn, New York (formerly of Hempstead, New York)

JAIRO CORNEJO-CRESPIN (also known as “Flaco”)
Age: 24
Brooklyn, New York (formerly of Freeport, New York)

WILLIAM LAINEZ-DURAN (also known as “Chino” and “Spanky”)
Age: 24
Uniondale, New York

Elvin Eulises Vasquez-Lopez (also known as “Elvin Amaya” and “Pikachu”)
Age: 23
Hempstead, New York

Jose Omar Yanes-Romero (also known as “Jose Pineda,” “Iron,” “Speedy” and “Chino”)
Age: 24
Culpeper, Virginia (formerly of Hempstead, New York)

Defendant Previously Indicted:

GERSON HERNANDEZ (also known as “Steven Jefferson,” “Jeffrey,” “Serio,” “Serioso” and “Necio”)
Age: 23
East Meadow, New York (formerly of Hempstead, New York)

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-369 (S-1)(JMA)