Jairo Saenz, a top deputy in MS-13 on Long Island pleaded guilty in connection with seven murders, including the 2016 Brentwood killings of teens Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports. Credit: Newsday/Kendall Rodriguez; File Footage; Photo Credit: Newsday / Howard Schnapp; Government Exhibit, Johnson Family, Mickens Family, SCPD

Jairo Saenz, a top leader in the MS-13 street gang, pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection with seven murders on Long Island, including the 2016 killings of teenagers Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens in Brentwood.

Saenz, 28, the No. 2-ranked member of the Central Islip and Brentwood-based Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside clique of MS-13, faces a sentence ranging from 40 to 60 years in prison as part of an agreement with prosecutors. Saenz pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

"I agreed with the other members [of MS-13] that they should kill the females," said Saenz, in a detailed allocution his attorney Jackie Walsh read in court.

"Today, Jairo Saenz pleaded guilty to seven murders that can only be described as barbaric, and multiple acts of senseless gang violence that had turned parts of Long Island into a war zone, with MS-13 gang members wielding guns, machetes, bats and fire that threatened the safety of our communities," said Acting U.S. Attorney Carolyn Pokorny. "It is my sincere hope that today’s guilty plea brings some measure of solace and closure to the families of the defendant’s victims who continue to mourn the deaths of their loved ones."

WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND

  • Jairo Saenz, a top leader in the MS-13 street gang, pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection with seven murders on Long Island, including the 2016 killings of teenagers Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens in Brentwood.
  • Saenz, 28, the No. 2-ranked member of the Central Islip and Brentwood-based Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside clique of MS-13, faces a sentence ranging from 40 to 60 years in prison as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors.
  • The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Sentencing is scheduled for June 13.

U.S. District Judge Gary Brown accepted the plea following a short hearing in which he sealed the courtroom to discuss an undisclosed "medical issue" and then declared: "This defendant is competent to proceed."

Mickens' mother, Elizabeth Alvarado, who was in court for the guilty plea, said she wanted to see Saenz get the death penalty — which prosecutors ultimately decided not to pursue — or life in prison.

"He needs to rot in jail," said Alvarado, who added that, if given the opportunity, she'd ask her daughter's admitted killer why she was killed.

"Why did it happen? Why did you choose my daughter that day?" Alvarado said.

Nisa Mickens, 15, left, and Kayla Cuevas, 16, were killed after...

Nisa Mickens, 15, left, and Kayla Cuevas, 16, were killed after MS-13 members saw the teens walking on Stahley Street in Brentwood on Sept. 13, 2016, officials said. Credit: /Family & SCPD

The brutal killings of the Mickens, 15, and Cuevas, 16, both students at Brentwood High School, caused outage on Long Island and cast national attention on the issue of gang violence.

Cuevas' mother, Evelyn Rodriguez, emerged as an anti-gang activist and was a guest of then-President Donald Trump at the State of the Union address in 2018. Rodriguez later died after she was struck by a car as she prepared to lead a vigil on the second anniversary of the girls' killings.

Cuevas was marked for death by MS-13 after she was involved in a series of disputes, including an altercation a week before she was killed, with members of the gang and their associates, prosecutors have said.

Saenz also pleaded guilty in the 2016 deaths of Michael Johnson, Oscar Acosta, Javier Castillo, Dewann Stacks and the 2017 killing of Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla, a spate of MS-13 violence that raised questions about police response to gang activity and methods used to deal with it.

Johnson's father, George Johnson, said the holidays are especially tough for him because his other children gather, highlighting his slain son's absence.

"I miss him," the father said.

As part of his guilty plea, Saenz, known as "Funny," admitted conspiring to murder another victim, Marcus Bohannon, setting fire to a car on the day before Mickens and Cuevas were killed and selling marijuana and cocaine.

The judge set sentencing for June 13.

Saenz's brother, Alexi Saenz, the leader of the clique, pleaded guilty in July to racketeering in connection with eight killings, including those of Mickens and Cuevas.

The Saenz brothers' mother attended Tuesday's guilty plea proceeding and the mother and son exchanged smiles in the courtroom. She declined to comment as she exited.

FAA data analyzed by Newsday shows the number of bird strikes voluntarily reported by airports in New York City and Long Island has increased by 46% between 2009 and 2023. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.  Credit: Newsday/File Footage; Photo Credit: AP Photo/Steven Day, Bebeto Matthews; Getty Images

'A different situation at every airport' FAA data analyzed by Newsday shows the number of bird strikes voluntarily reported by airports in New York City and Long Island has increased by 46% between 2009 and 2023. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.

FAA data analyzed by Newsday shows the number of bird strikes voluntarily reported by airports in New York City and Long Island has increased by 46% between 2009 and 2023. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.  Credit: Newsday/File Footage; Photo Credit: AP Photo/Steven Day, Bebeto Matthews; Getty Images

'A different situation at every airport' FAA data analyzed by Newsday shows the number of bird strikes voluntarily reported by airports in New York City and Long Island has increased by 46% between 2009 and 2023. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.

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