Nassau DA: MS-13 gang member pleads guilty in 2016 machete killing

An alleged MS-13 gang member has pleaded guilty for his role in the machete killing of a Uniondale teenager in the Massapequa Park Preserve in 2016 — the height of a spate of brutal violence on Long Island from the street gang, Nassau prosecutors said Wednesday.

Samuel Ponce, 20, of Hempstead, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Tuesday before Judge Helene Gugerty in the killing of Bryan Steven Cho Lemus, a perceived enemy of MS-13, on Aug. 23, 2016, the Nassau District Attorney's Office said.

Ponce, also known as "Little Chickie," faced a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in prison because he was just 15 years old at the time of the killing, according to the district attorney’s office. In exchange for his guilty plea, Ponce is expected to be sentenced to 9 years to life in prison at his Aug. 25 sentencing. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 11 years to life.

"Bryan Lemus was just 18 years old when he was viciously attacked and violently murdered with machetes by the defendant and multiple MS-13 members," Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce A. Smith said in a statement. "The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office has for years been committed to prosecuting the brutal crimes of members of MS-13, to rid gang violence from the streets of Nassau County and secure justice for the victims and their families."

Lemus was walking his dog on Arthur Street in Uniondale when he was lured into the Massapequa Preserve, authorities said. While inside the park, Lemus was allegedly killed with machetes by Ponce and other members of MS-13, officials said. But Lemus’ body was not discovered until nearly three years later, when on May 24, 2019, Nassau police homicide detectives found Lemus’ body in a shallow grave during a canvass of the area, officials said.

Lemus was the last MS-13 victim, among those killed at the height of the gang’s violent spree on Long Island in 2016 and 2017, to be found by police. Stanley Gerson Juarez, 22, of Hempstead, was also charged with second-degree murder in Lemus' killing.

Ponce’s Mineola-based attorney Dennis Lemke said Wednesday his client, a native of El Salvador, was not a member of MS-13, but did associate with members of the gang. Ponce crossed the border illegally into the United States when he was 13 and after being held by immigration authorities, was released into the custody of his father who was living on Long Island, Lemke said.

On the day of Lemus' killing, Lemke said Ponce "was home playing video games. They said, 'Come on, let’s go for a ride.'"

Lemke added: "When he was brought to the park, he was unaware that they were planning to kill anybody."

Ponce initially was directed to act as a lookout after Lemus was lured into the woods to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol, but was later told to strike Lemus with a machete, which he admitted to doing in court, said Lemke.

"He felt pressure to take part in it, absolutely," said Lemke.

Ponce has been taking high school equivalency classes while incarcerated and mentors other prisoners, Lemke said.

"He's extremely remorseful," said Lemke. "And he's going to make something out of his life."

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.