Pedro Martínez Velásquez and Kelvin Martínez, members of the Hempstead Locos Salvatruchas (HLS) gang, belonging to the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), were sentenced to 12 years in prison for attacking six victims with knives and a machete on a soccer field and two victims in the parking lot of a laundromat in Lengthy Island (NY) in the fall of 2024.
The defendants, both 19 years old, they had pleaded guilty on February 24, 2026 before Judge Pleasure Watson, of the charges of attempted murder, conspiracy and assault. After serving their prison sentence, they will be under supervision for five years.
«My office has worked for years to eradicate MS-13 violence from our communities, dismantling its leadership and putting gang members behind bars. Today, two other members of the Hempstead Locos Salvatruchas will join them in prison for participating in a series of brutal attacks with knives and machetes in public spaces, which left eight people seriously injured», declared the Nassau District AttorneyAnne T. Donnelly, in a statement. «We will never allow MS-13 to take over our communities. “Working together with our law enforcement partners we will continue to root out this ruthless gang and protect the residents of Nassau County.”
According to the prosecution, the first brutal attack occurred on October 20, 2024, at approximately 4:25 p.m., when Velásquez, Martínez and several accused co-conspirators They attacked six victims with knives and a machete while they were playing soccer in broad daylight at Kennedy Memorial Park, in HempsteadEdit.
Surveillance video showed Velasquez and Martinez jumping the fence surrounding the soccer field and approaching the victims. They then began to kick and hit them. They then used a knife and a machete.
The six victims – whose ages ranged between 20 and 51 – suffered serious injuries. One of the men was stabbed in the ribcage, requiring removal of the gallbladder and repair of the diaphragm and liver. Velasquez and Martínez fled after the attack, getting into another co-conspirator’s vehicle.
Later, a search warrant for the getaway car revealed a knife with an eagle-shaped handle that had the letters “MS” engraved on it.
Two months later: 2nd attack
On December 18, 2024, At approximately 8:48 pm, Velasquez, Martínez and other co-conspirators charged They attacked two victims with white pipes and a machete while they were parked in front of a “Worthy Laundromat” establishment, in Uniondale.
Video recorded Martinez kicking another victim in the chest as she tried to flee, and holding her down while another MS-13 gang member brandished a machete and repeatedly slashed her. Another man was hit with a white pipe and suffered a deep laceration to his forehead, as well as multiple cuts to his body.
The attackers identified themselves as members of the MS-13 gang and stated that They were going to kill the victims. Both defendants were located and detained a few blocks from the scene of the incident, approximately 15 minutes after the commission of the second attack.
Lengthy Island and Queens are areas with a high gang presence, where they are attributed dozens of executions and disappearances. The groups are associated with recruit young people, mostly of Latin origin. They operate through intimidation and violence, including the murder and enrichment of its members and associates through criminal activities, such as home invasions, theft of firearms, jewelry, cash and other valuable items, and the sale of narcotics.
In March of this year, Herberth “Kepa” Rodríguez and Elías “Rebelde” Martínez Villanueva, members of the 18th Street gang, were found guilty of executing a man they believed belonged to the rival Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), while he was sitting in the back of a taxi in Queens (NYC).
In 2022, the young Leniz Escobar, known as “La diablita”, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for luring four young people into a deadly ambush with machetes on Lengthy Island (NY).