MS-13 leader sentenced to 68 years in 8 murders on Long Island
An MS-13 leader on Long Island was sentenced Wednesday to 68 years in prison in a federal racketeering case involving eight murders, including the 2016 killings of two high school girls.
Alexi Saenz pleaded guilty last year for his role in ordering and approving the killings as well as other crimes during a rash of bloody violence that prompted President Donald Trump to make several visits to Long Island and call for the death penalty for Saenz and other gang members during his first term in the White House.
Saenz faced anywhere from 45 to 70 years in prison
Saenz's lawyers were seeking a sentence of 45 years behind bars, but prosecutors wanted the judge to impose the maximum sentence of 70 years.
Prosecutors, who previously withdrew their intent to seek the death penalty, said Saenz deserves to live out his days in prison for his "senseless" and "sadistic" crimes.
"The eight victims who lost their lives did nothing to deserve what the MS-13 did to them," they wrote in legal filings ahead of Wednesday's hearing. "The defendant and the others killed them in service of the gang without remorse or any regard for them as human beings."
But Saenz's lawyers have argued for leniency, saying in their own legal filings that the now-30-year-old is remorseful and "on a journey of redemption" while incarcerated.
"With the passage of time and much reflection, it is hard for Mr. Saenz to reconcile the person he is today with the person he was when he committed the crimes," their sentencing memo reads. "He is profoundly sorry, and although he knows the families may not accept his apology, it is sincere, and he accepts full responsibility for his participation in these crimes."
Saenz's lawyers also say he suffers from intellectual disabilities and lasting trauma from an abusive father and difficult upbringing in El Salvador. They say Saenz was recruited and unwittingly "groomed" into MS-13 because he was an "easily influenced" and "gullible" high school student on Long Island.
Prosecutors, however, counter that Saenz has remained "firmly entrenched" in MS-13 while in a federal lockup in Brooklyn for the past eight years.
They cited photos of him posing with other gang members behind bars and displaying gang signs and gang paraphernalia. They also say Saenz has been disciplined for assaulting other inmates, refusing staff orders and possessing sharpened metal shanks, cellphones and other contraband.
"Indeed, the same pattern of violence and mayhem that has marked his life on the street has not waned with the passage of time," prosecutors wrote.
MS-13 murders of Kayla Cuevas, Nisa Mickens
Saenz, also known as "Blasty" and "Big Homie," was the leader of an MS-13 clique operating in Brentwood and Central Islip known as Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside.
He admitted last July that he'd authorized the eight killings and three other attempted killings of perceived rivals and others that had disrespected or feuded with the clique.
Saenz also admitted to arson, firearms offenses and drug trafficking -- the proceeds of which went toward buying firearms, more drugs and providing contributions to the wider MS-13 gang.
Among the killings Saenz oversaw were the deaths of Kayla Cuevas, 16, and Nisa Mickens, 15, lifelong friends and classmates at Brentwood High School who were slain with a machete and a baseball bat.
Other victims included Javier Castillo, 15, of Central Islip, who was befriended by gang members only to be cut down with a machete in an isolated marsh.
Another victim, Oscar Acosta, 19, was found dead in a wooded area near railroad tracks nearly five months after he left his Brentwood home to play soccer.
MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, is a transnational criminal organization believed to have been founded as a neighborhood street gang in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s by people fleeing civil war in El Salvador.
Families of victims satisfied with sentencing
The parents of four victims gave impact statements at Wednesday's sentencing.
"It's just an emotional day," Elizabeth Alvarado, Nisa's mother, said.
She brought Nisa's ashes with her as she made her plea for justice.
"Strong and solid, so that I can talk for her," she said.
Alvarado says she's been waiting nearly a decade for this and was satisfied with the 68-year sentence.
"That's life for him because he's never going to come out," she said.
In court, Saenz apologized to the families of his victims, but none accepted it, including George Johnson, whose son, Michael Johnson, was killed after being mistaken for a rival gang member.
"You heard me tell him, 'Look at me.' His face is to the floor. No, look at me," Johnson said. "He's learned nothing."
Loved ones of victims say the prosecution's argument that Saenz still managed to run the gang from inside prison walls showed his true colors.
"They caught him doing various whatever acts he was doing in there, and it made it even better for us," Freddie Cuevas, Kayla's father, said.
Saenz's defense attorneys said they hoped the sentencing brought closure to the families.
None of Saenz's family or friends were in court to support him.
