MS-13 member ‘Antichrist' to be locked up for 55 years for savage quadruple machete massacre in Long Island park
A vicious MS-13 gangbanger known as 'Antichrist' will spend the next 55 years in federal prison for his role in savagely hacking four suspected rivals to death with machetes in a Long Island park.
Omar Antonio Villalta, 29, was handed the lengthy prison term Wednesday for conspiring with other members of the notorious El Salvadoran gang to plan and execute the bloody massacre in Central Islip on April 11, 2017, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Villalta — whose alias was 'Anticristo' (Spanish for Antichrist) — is the sixth person sentenced in the quadruple killing of Michael Lopez, 20; Justin Llivicura, 16; and Jorge Tigre and Jefferson Villalobos, both 18.
5 Michael Lopez, 20, Justin Llivicura, 16, and Jorge Tigre and Jefferson Villalobos, both 18, were killed on April 11, 2017.
More than a dozen MS-13 members and associates, who incorrectly believed the victims were rival gang members, were charged with their heinous murders, prosecutors said.
'My Office and our law enforcement partners have worked endlessly to hold MS-13 accountable for their unspeakable crimes and the harm they've caused to countless victims and their loved ones,' United States Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. said in a statement.
'This sentencing and others demonstrate our relentless pursuit to dismantle MS-13 and other violent criminal organizations in totality.'
5 Omar Antonio Villalta, 29, is the sixth person sentenced in the quadruple killing.
CBS NEW YORK
On April 11, two female MS-13 thugs lured the four men to a wooded area near the community park, where Villalta and more than a dozen other gang members and associates waited to pounce, according to prosecutors.
Villalta handed out machetes, knives and blades, while others fashioned clubs from tree limbs to attack the victims – who they believed mocked the gang on social media.
5 Leniz Escobar, 24, was sentenced in October to 50 years in prison for the quadruple murder.
SMoore-Glasgow
The ruthless mob surrounded the young victims and butchered them to death – before piling their lifeless bodies in a secluded spot in the woods and fleeing, prosecutors said.
Villalta, who is a member of the Guanacos Lil Cycos Salvatruchas clique of the violent criminal enterprise, fled to Charlottesville, Virginia, following the attack. While in the Old Dominion State, he killed Marvin Rivera Guevara on July 3, 2017, after the victim reportedly flashed an 18th Street Gang sign, an MS-13 rival.
5 The victims' bodies were found piled up in the woods the following day.
CBS NEW YORK
Prosecutors said Villalta persuaded the victim to drive with him to a secluded area under the guise of smoking marijuana and meeting women before the convicted killer and other gang members forced Guevara at gunpoint deeper into the woods, where he too was murdered with machetes and knives.
The violent group later threw the victim's eviscerated body off a nearby bridge into the river.
5 MS-13 gang associate Keyli Gomez was also charged in the heinous killing.
EDNY
Villalta pleaded guilty in March 2023 to racketeering for all five killings.
'Omar Antonio Villalta, an MS-13 member, repeatedly played judge, jury, and executioner by unlawfully issuing death sentences to five victims perceived to be disrespectful or rivals to the gang,' FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia said.
'These slaughters reflect the gang's gruesome retributive tactics while demonstrating utter disregard for life with the rapid succession of murders. May today's legitimate sentencing reflect the FBI's steadfast commitment to dismantling any gang from plaguing our communities with rampant violence.'
President Trump designated MS-13 as a foreign terrorist organization when he declared a national emergency at the southern border earlier this year.
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Associated Press writer Julie Watson contributed to this report from San Diego, California.
