Three alleged MS-13 members indicted in deadly 2015 Brentwood killing, federal prosecutors say

Three alleged members of the MS-13 street gang were charged in a two-count federal indictment unsealed Tuesday in federal court in Central Islip in connection with the 2015 shooting death of a man in a "brazen and unprovoked attack" in Brentwood, federal prosecutors said.

The defendants were identified as Roberto Antonio Abrego-Reyes, 28, of Hempstead and Flushing, who is also known as “Splinter” and “Impaciente,” Miguel Angel Alfaro-Santos, 26, of Flushing, who is also known as “Asesino,” and Jose Benedicto Baires-Novoa, 26, of Brentwood and Flushing, also known as “Macabro.” 

They are charged with one count of murder and causing the victim’s death through the use of a firearm in connection with the death of 24-year-old Kenneth Evans, Jr.

Defense attorneys for the three men could not immediately be reached for comment.

Members of the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force arrested Baires-Novoa, who prosecutors said is member of the Guanacos Lil Cycos Salvatruchas clique of the MS-13, on Monday in Brentwood. He was arraigned Tuesday by United States Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks, who ordered him detained pending trial.

Alfaro-Santos, who prosecutors said is also a member of the Guanacos clique of the MS-13, appeared Tuesday in federal court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and was ordered removed to the Eastern District of New York to face charges. Abrego-Reyes, an alleged member of the Indios Locos Salvatruchas clique of the MS-13, is currently in state custody at the Nassau County Correctional Center and will be transferred to federal custody and arraigned at a later date, prosecutors said.

“With these arrests, we are holding the defendants accountable for senselessly shooting two innocent bystanders, striking one in the head and killing the other, leaving fear and grief in their wake,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “This should serve as a warning, that there is no amount of time that will stop this Office from pursuing justice to keep our communities safe.”

According to prosecutors, Abrego-Reyes, Alfaro-Santos and Baires-Novoa allegedly agreed with other MS-13 members to “put in work” for the gang – to look for rival gang members to target and kill – on the evening on Nov. 28, 2015. Armed with a .38 caliber handgun and a 9mm handgun, they drove around the Brentwood area looking for potential targets and spotted three men, one of whom was Evans, walking along Gibson Avenue, officials said.

The victims were “wrongly presumed” to be members of a rival gang and targeted, prosecutors said.

Alfaro-Santos and another MS-13 member, who were each armed with a handgun, got out of the car and approached the victims, prosecutors said. Alfaro-Santos and the other MS-13 member walked behind the three victims and allegedly began shooting. Evans was struck multiple times and died from his wounds. A second victim was shot in the head but survived the attack. The third man escaped injury.

Abrego-Reyes, who was driving the vehicle, Baires-Novoa, and another MS-13 member stayed in the area and acted as lookouts, prosecutors said.

After the shooting, the MS-13 members in the car picked up the two alleged shooters, and all fled the scene.

 “The senseless and gruesome acts committed in the name of MS-13 are hard to comprehend,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison said in a statement. “This department, along with our law enforcement partners, will never stop pursuing justice for those killed at hands of gang members. Even though seven years have passed since this murder, investigators never gave up.” 

Prosecutors said that each defendant faces mandatory life in prison or the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.