Alleged Trinitarios gang leader in custody in connection with 'Junior' killing: source

NEW YORK -- (WPIX) -- An accused leader in the ruthless Trinitarios gang was being held at the 48th Precinct Tuesday in the killing of 15-year-old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, a senior law enforcement official confirmed to PIX11 News.

Police said they have arrested Diego Suero, 29, in connection with the teen's killing. Suero faces charges of murder, manslaughter, gang assault, assault and conspiracy, according to the NYPD.

His arrest is the ninth in the case. Eight suspected gang members were arrested last week, accused of dragging the 15-year-old Guzman-Feliz out of a bodega on East 183rd Street and Bathgate Avenue on June 20.

The teen was set upon by a gang of men, armed with knives and machetes, who hacked at him as he struggled to defend himself. He was slashed in the neck.

Video shows the 15-year-old staggering back into the bodega. He then took off toward St. Barnabas Hospital three blocks away. He collapsed in the street outside the hospital and died.

The killing sparked widespread community outrage over gang violence.

In addition to the man arrested Tuesday, eight men are behind bars in connection with the slaying. They are all suspected members of the Trinitarios gang.

Some of those suspects are now considered the “most-watched inmates” at Rikers Island, where they are under constant video surveillance and are being housed alone in their cells, sources told PIX11 News on Monday. The men are not allowed to be transferred or moved around Rikers without being filmed by a handheld camera operated by a captain.