One of the five gang members convicted for last year’s mistaken-identity murder of a 15-year-old New York boy allegedly attacked a corrections officer on Tuesday.
Sources told WPIX that Jose Muniz—who is facing life in prison for the June 20 slaying of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz—dislocated the shoulder of a Manhattan Detention Center corrections officer. The officer was reportedly hospitalized following Tuesday’s scuffle.
Muniz, 21, is being held at the facility as he awaits transfer to state prison. WPIX noted that Muniz was identified as one gang members who attacked Guzman-Feliz with a machete. While Muniz’s attorney admitted to his involvement, he claimed Muniz intentionally hit the teen with the flat side of the weapon to harm, not kill, him.
In addition to Muniz, Santiago Rodriguez, 24, Joniki Matinez, 24, Danel Fernandez, 21, and Manuel Rivera, 18, were also convicted Friday of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, gang assault, and conspiracy for the June 2018 slaying. Following the guilty verdict, Muniz reportedly said, “Popote, hasta la muerte!” which translates to “Trinitarios until death.”
A total of 14 suspects, all reportedly members of the Sures set of the Trinitarios gang, have been charged in connection with Guzman-Feliz’s murder. They’re believed to have targeted the teen because they thought he was affiliated with a rival gang responsible for shooting one of their members two days earlier. However, police have said his murder was the result of mistaken identity.
Prosecutors said Guzman-Feliz succumbed to a neck wound caused by a 4-and-a-half inch knife which severed his jugular vein. Surveillance cameras reportedly filmed a mob dragging Guzman-Feliz outside a Bronx bodega before stabbing and attacking him.
Guzman-Feliz was seen stumbling inside the bodega before exiting and making a run for the hospital. The gravely-injured teen reportedly bled to death steps from the emergency room.
[Featured image: Jose Muniz/Handout; Lesandro Guzman-Feliz/Facebook]
