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A female MS-13 gang member called “Little Devil” is currently on trial for allegedly luring numerous New York high school students into the hands of killers.
According to the New York Post, Leniz Escobar is on trial for the deaths of Michael Lopez, Justin Llivicura, Jorge Tigre, and Jefferson Villalobos. She’s accused of coaxing the Long Island boys into a secluded Central Islip area, where MS-13 gang members were waiting for them, back in April 2017.
All fours boys were killed in the ambush, federal agents said Monday during a U.S. Circuit court hearing. They were beaten and hacked to death, then left their bodies in a nearby soccer field.
In a December 2019 ruling, US Circuit Judge Joseph Bianco said Escobar is accused of “instigating the murders, along with another juvenile female, by locating photographs of some of the victims flashing MS-13 gang signs on social media … and then showing those photographs to MS-13 members.”
The prosecution argued that Escobar was an associate of the gang and lured the victims in to gain favors with the MS-13 members. The gang members reportedly thought it was a “deep sign of disrespect” for the victims to act like they were in the gang when they were not.
“They were just high school kids,” Assistant US Attorney Megan Farrell said during opening statements. “They were trying to look tough and get attention. The members of MS-13 saw these pictures on social media and saw these pictures as a deep sign of disrespect, enough to justify death.
One sole survivor of the ambush, who has only been identified as “Alex,” testified Monday.
“The MS-13 crew came out from the darkness, screaming orders that they were all to get down on the ground. The defendant pretended to be one of the victims and got down. The real victims took off running, but Alex was the only one fast enough to escape. The other four were hacked to death,” Farrell added.
Alex, who was 15 at the time of the attack, testified that Escobar chose the spot to meet in the woods, ABC 7 reports. While they were smoking marijuana, around 7 to 10 gang members emerged out of nowhere and started attacking the victims.
Alex said he jumped and ran when the gangsters told the boys to get down on their knees. Escobar got down with the rest of the victims, allegedly pretending to be a victim herself.
Defense lawyer Keith White argued that Escobar had no idea that the gang was going to attack the boys.
The trial is expected to last several weeks. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Police Handout]
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