A member of the MS-13 gang has been indicted in the 2016 killing of a man in Greenlawn.
Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini and Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart announced on Friday the indictment of Carlos Lopez Campos, 26, of Owings Mills, Md., is charged with murder in the second degree, an A felony.
He is the third MS-13 gang member charged in the slaying of 18-year-old Estiven Abrego-Gomez, of Greenlawn.
“This victim – like many other victims of MS-13 – was brutally murdered over a mere perceived rivalry,” Sini said.
A man walking near Greenlawn Park on Aug. 20, 2016 discovered Abrego-Gomez’s body. He had significant lacerations on his body.
“The Suffolk County Police Department is committed to bringing to justice those responsible for Estiven Abrego-Gomez’s death, and this latest arrest signifies those efforts,” Hart said. “Our continued commitment to dismantle MS-13 from the streets of Suffolk County has not wavered, and we commend the DA’s Office, SCPD Homicide Squad, and all our law enforcement partners for their hard work and dedication on this case.”
An investigation by the Suffolk County Police Department’s Homicide Squad and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office’s Homicide Bureau led to the indictment in March 2019 of Elmer Gilberto Santos Contreras, 25, who is charged with Murder in the Second Degree, an A felony.
The investigation revealed evidence that the defendants allegedly murdered Abrego-Gomez because they believed he was a member of the 18th Street gang, a rival of MS-13.
Campos was remanded without bail. He is due back in court on Dec. 7. If convicted, Campos faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
A third alleged co-conspirator, Anthony Gutierrez-Meza, 23, is in custody on unrelated charges in Virginia and will be arraigned on the indictment at a later date.
Contreras’ case is pending.