GREENLAWN, N.Y. (AP) - A third suspected MS-13 gang member has been indicted in the death of a teenager who was found mutilated with his hands nearly severed in a Long Island park.
Carlos Lopez Campos, of Owings Mills, Maryland, pleaded not guilty Thursday to a murder charge in the 2016 killing of 18-year-old Estiven Abrego-Gomez.
Lopez Campos, 26, was ordered jailed without bail. He is due back in court on Dec. 7. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
A message seeking comment was left with a lawyer listed for Lopez Campos in court records.
“This victim – like many other victims of MS-13 – was brutally murdered over a mere perceived rivalry,” Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini said. “Even after the apprehension of two of Abrego-Gomez’s alleged murderers last year, law enforcement did not stop investigating and collecting intelligence on MS-13, which led to this latest arrest.”
Two other suspected MS-13 gang member were indicted last year in connection with the death of Abrego-Gomez, who was found dead Aug. 20, 2016 at a baseball field in Greenlawn, where he lived.
Elmer Gilberto Santos Contreras, a citizen of El Salvador, is accused of ordered the killing after the teenager appeared on social media flashing signs linked to a rival gang.
Anthony Gutierrez-Meza was charged with allegedly acting in concert with Contreras.
Contreras remains jailed while awaiting trial. Gutierrez-Meza is in police custody in Virginia on unrelated charges.
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