MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced For 'Brutal' Murder: DOJ

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — An MS-13 gang member was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty in 2018 to charges related to the 2014 murder of a man who was shot and killed while sitting in his car outside his Brentwood home, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace announced.

Edwin Amaya-Sanchez, also known as “Strong,” a member of the Guanacos Lil Cycos Salvatruchas clique of La Mara Salvatrucha—also known as the MS-13 gang—was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Gary R. Brown to 292 months in prison in Central Islip, according to Peace.

In April 2018, Amaya- Sanchez pleaded guilty to firearms-related murder charges in connection with his participation in the July 14, 2014 murder of Jose Lainez-Murcia, who was shot while sitting in a car outside his Brentwood home, Peace said.

According to the investigation, Amaya-Sanchez and other MS-13 members murdered Lainez-Murcia because they suspected that he was an assassin who had killed MS-13 members in El Salvador, Peace said.

Amaya-Sanchez knew where Lainez-Murcia lived, what car he drove, and what time he left for work in the morning because they previously worked together, according to Peace. On the morning July 14, 2014, Amaya-Sanchez drove two other MS-13 members armed with 9mm guns, to Lainez-Murcia’s neighborhood and dropped them off, Peace said.

When Lainez-Murcia left the house and got into his car, the gang members shot him multiple times and killed him, Peace said. After killing Lainez-Murcia, the two MS-13 members ran down the block where Amaya-Sanchez picked them up and drove away, Peace said.

According to Peace, Amaya-Sanchez is an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who'd been deported from the United States and illegally returned. He was first arrested on September 21, 2015, in connection with federal immigration charges. On Friday, Brown also sentenced him to time served following his guilty plea to the immigration charge in April 2016. Upon completing the 292-month sentence, he faces deportation from the U.S., Peace said.

“As Amaya-Sanchez admitted, the murder he committed was premeditated and brutal. Now he will have a long time to think about his cruel actions as he serves his sentence behind bars,” Peace said. “This Office and our law enforcement partners will continue working tirelessly to eliminate MS-13 and the threat this transnational criminal enterprise presents to our community.”