In June 2018, Lesandro ‘Junior’ Guzman-Feliz was stabbed and hacked to death outside of a NYC bodega. He was 15 years old, and his passing sparked national reactions to community and gang violence. At least 13 members of the Trinitarios gang have been convicted and sentenced in the case, per CBS News. In the latest update, one of those men—Jonaiki Martinez-Estrella—died in prison. Junior’s mother, Leandra Feliz, has reacted to the death of one of her son’s killers.
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How Was Jonaiki Martinez-Estrella Involved In Jr.’s Murder?
For context, Jonaiki Martinez-Estrella is the convicted gang member who delivered the machete hit that killed Junior. He and others dragged the 15-year-old out of the corner store after mistaking him for someone else. In October 2019, he received life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder. However, an appeals court threw out the conviction in 2023. A Bronx Supreme Court justice resentenced him in May after his conviction on the lesser charge of second-degree murder, conspiracy, and gang assault. He got 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
What Happened To Jonaiki?
The news of Jonaiki’s death first came from the New York State Department of Corrections. Officials reportedly found the 31-year-old unresponsive in his cell at the Coxsackie Correctional Facility. The response was life-saving measures, including CPR, Narcan, and an AED. However, he remained unresponsive. The Greene County Medical Examiner is working on learning the cause of death.
Lesandro Guzman-Feliz’s Mother Reacts To Update
As mentioned, Leandra Feliz has already reacted to the death of Jonaiki Martinez-Estrella. In a conversation with the New York Post, Junior’s mother spared no sympathy for her son’s murderer. Instead, she told the outlet that Jonaiki “deserved” death.
“He deserved it,” the mother reportedly said. “It’s not going to bring my son back. It doesn’t help the damage he did to me. It doesn’t help the damage he did to my family.”
Additionally, she said living life as a gang member will only lead someone to the cemetery or prison. “He went [to] both. That’s the way life works,” Leandra Feliz explained. She emphasized that Jonaiki is only “getting a small taste, a smart part” of what he did to her.
“He killed an innocent kid outside in the street,” the mother said. “Him being a 31-year-old that threw his life away to being in a gang. He got what he deserved.”
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