MS-13 gangster is convicted of murdering eight in a year on Long Island - including two schoolgirls DA says killer's hands are 'drenched with blood'
An MS-13 gang leader has been convicted for ordering or carrying out the murders of eight people in just one year on Long Island, including two schoolgirls.
Alexi Saenz, 29, also known as 'Blasty' and 'Big Homie,' pleaded guilty Wednesday to racketeering charges for the string of murders in 2016 - with his attorney reading a statement that admitted Saenz ordered or approved the killings of gang rivals.
He also admitted to arson, firearms offenses and drug trafficking - the proceeds of which went to buying more firearms and drugs, and provided contributions to the larger MS-13 operation.
Among Saenz's victims were Kayla Cuevas, 16, and Nisa Mickens, 15 - two lifelong friends whose murders raised the nation's awareness of a growing gang problem in the United States.
Saenz said he was not present when the two teenagers were killed, but had phone conversations with other gang members planning out the attack beforehand.
Alexi Saenz, 29, also known as 'Blasty' and 'Big Homie,' pleaded guilty Wednesday to racketeering charges for a string of murders in 2016
Among Saenz's victims were Kayla Cuevas, 16, and Nisa Mickens, 15 - two lifelong friends who were killed while walking through their neighborhood on September 13, 2016
The high schoolers were walking through their suburban neighborhood of Brentwood - about 40 miles east of New York City - on September 13, 2016 when they were attacked by a group of young men and teenage boys who hacked and beat them to death.
Cuevas' body was nearly unrecognizable in the aftermath.
According to prosecutors, the attack came after Cuevas got into an online dispute with some of the MS-13 gang members and their associates.
The animosity boiled over to a fight at Brentwood High School, which prosecutors say led the gang to 'put a "greenlight" on Cuevas, that is they authorized her to be killed,' the New York Post reports.
Following the murders, then-candidate Donald Trump called for those involved to face the death penalty as he blamed the violence on lax immigration policies.
The girls' murders raised the nation's awareness of a growing gang problem in the United States
The girls' deaths also led to questions about whether police on Long Island had been aggressive enough in confronting the gangs sprouting up at local high schools.
For months in 2016, Hispanic children and young men had been disappearing in Brentwood, with police later discovering the bodies of three other teenagers in Brentwood, ages 15, 18 and 19, who were reported missing months earlier.
In federal court on Wednesday, Saenz admitted to playing a role in six other murders and three attempted murders.
Among them were Javier Castillo, 15, of Central Islip, who prosecutors say befriended some members of the gang - only to find himself driven 30 miles west to Freeport, where he was fatally attacked with a machete in an isolated marsh.
His body was found a year later.
Another victim was Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla, 29, who was killed by a gunman inside a Central Islip deli
Oscar Acosta, 19, was also lured by members of the gang to smoke marijuana in a wooded area, where he was bludgeoned with tree limbs and hacked to death with a machete. His body was found near some railroad tracks just days after Cuevas and Mickens were killed.
Michael Johnson, 29, was lured to death in much the same way as Acosta, and was ambushed from behind - with gang members striking him with a baseball bat, stabbing him with a knife and taking turns hacking him with a machete.
Other victims include Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla, 29, who was killed by a gunman inside a Central Islip deli; Dewann Stacks, 34, who was ambushed and beaten to death as he walked along a road in Brentwood near a wooded area the gang would sometimes use as a meeting spot; and Marcus Bohannon, 27, who was shot nine times.
'To say that Alexi Saenz's hands are drenched in blood does not begin to describe the multiple killings and extreme mayhem he personally directed and committed in the span of one year in Suffolk County,' said Breon Peace, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Saenz was finally arrested in 2017, on racketeering, conspiracy and murder charges along with a dozen other members of his Long Island gang
Saenz was finally arrested in 2017, on racketeering, conspiracy and murder charges along with a dozen other members of his Long Island gang - which was dubbed the Sailors Locos Savatruchas Westside.
Prosecutors originally sought the death penalty in the case, but United States Attorney General Merrick Garland instructed local prosecutors to withdraw their intent to seek capital punishment, according to ABC 7.
Under his plea deal, Saenz now faces up to 70 years in prison.
But prosecutors have noted that they retain the right to pull the agreement before sentencing if his brother, Jairo Saenz - who allegedly served as the number-two leader in the gang - does not also agree to a plea deal before Alexi's sentencing at the end of January.
Charges against the brother are still pending.
Charges against his brother, Jairo Saenz, are still pending
Meanwhile, families of the victims have expressed mixed emotions to Saenz's plea deal.
George Johnson, the father of Michael Johnson, noted that he did not see any remorse or emotion from Saenz as he sat in federal court on Wednesday to face the charges, and argued 'he should die' in jail.
'This just seemed like something he wanted to get over and done with,' he said.
Freddy Cuevas, the father of Kayla, also said he was disappointed the death penalty was taken off the table.
'He's an animal. He's inhumane,' Cuevas said of Saenz.
'Hopefully justice will be served soon and we can put this all behind us as far as the families are concerned.'
Nisa's mother, Elizabeth Alvarado, meanwhile, expressed relief that she and the other families would not have to go through the trauma of a trial.
'All I was is my daughter to be at peace,' she said between tears as she wore a black shirt with her daughter's name on the back.
'The more time we have out, she is never going to be at peace,' Alvarado explained.
'At the end of the day, she is going to be happy because it will all be over.'
