Latest news with #OmarAntonioVillalta
Toronto Sun
08-05-2025
- Toronto Sun
'Sadistic' MS-13 gang member sentenced for horrific hacking deaths
Omar Antonio Villalta, known as 'Anticristo', believed his victims were members of a rival gang The casket of Justin Llivicura is carried from St. Joseph the Worker Church after Llivicura's funeral Wednesday, April 19, 2017, in East Patchogue, N.Y. Llivicura, 16, was one of four young men found slain in a MS-13 gang killing in a park in Central Islip, N.Y. Photo by Frank Eltman / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A member of the vicious MS-13 gang has been sentenced by a New York judge to 55 years in prison for the horrific hacking deaths of three young men and a teen boy eight years ago. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Omar Antonio Villalta, 29, known as 'Anticristo' – the Antichrist – is the sixth person sentenced for the violent murders of Michael Lopez, 20, Jorge Tigre and Jefferson Villalobos, both 18, and Justin Llivicura, who was just 16, in a Long Island park on April 11, 2017, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced Wednesday. Villalta pleaded guilty to racketeering, including predicate acts of murder and conspiracy to murder rival gang members, in May 2023. Prosecutors said Villalta was also involved in the July 2017 murder of another man in Virginia. A man walks past police tape near a crime scene in Central Islip, N.Y., on Thursday, April 13, 2017. Photo by Seth Wenig / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS '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 Christopher G. Raia said in a statement. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'These slaughters reflect the gang's gruesome retributive tactics while demonstrating utter disregard for life with the rapid succession of murders.' According to the government, Villalta and more than a dozen other members and associates of the MS-13 lured five people – with help from two female associates – to a community park in Central Islip where they were attacked by members and associates of the gang. The government's sentencing memorandum said MS-13 members believed the victims to be members of a rival gang and at least two of them had offended the MS-13 by sharing photos to social media in which they wore certain items and flashed hand signs that signified membership in the gang. RECOMMENDED VIDEO After the photos were brought to the attention of several gang members, they concocted a plan to kill the victims, according to court filings. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Villalta and other members waited in the park as the two female associates led the five to a wooded area. Knives and machetes were distributed by Villalta while others carried clubs made of tree limbs. Once the intended targets arrived, they were encircled by the gang under cover of darkness. One managed to escape but Lopez, Tigre, Villalobos, and Llivicura were viciously hacked and beaten to death. The victims' bodies were dragged to a more secluded spot in the woods and piled up before the gang fled the area. Their bodies were discovered the following evening. 'The torture carried out at the hands of Villalta was inconceivable and sadistic – all because of his devotion to MS-13,' Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said. 'His crimes sent shock waves through our communities but thanks to our collaboration with our law enforcement partners, Villalta was apprehended, and we will continue to target violent gang members who are a threat public safety.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Following the murders, prosecutors said Villalta fled to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he connected with local MS-13 members. While working at a pizzeria, Villalta reported to other MS-13 members that a co-worker, Marvin Rivera Guevara, flashed a hand sign that indicated he was a member of a rival gang. Villalta informed MS-13 members and got the go-ahead to kill Guevara. On the evening of July 3, 2017, a MS-13 member drove Guevara to a remote location with the promise that they would smoke marijuana and meet women. However, Guevara was met by Villalta and other MS-13 members who forced the victim at gunpoint deeper into the woods where they attacked him with a machete and knives before throwing the victim's body off a nearby bridge into the river below. Read More This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. More than a dozen MS-13 members and associates have been charged with the quadruple murder in New York. Josue Portillo was sentenced to 55 years imprisonment while Freiry Martinez and Leniz Escobar both received 50 years. Anderson Sanchez was sentenced to 32 years in jail and Alexis Hernandez received 29 years. The remaining defendants are awaiting sentence. '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,' U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella said. 'This sentencing and others demonstrate our relentless pursuit to dismantle MS-13 and other violent criminal organizations in totality.' Toronto Maple Leafs Soccer World Columnists Canada
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
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. 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.' 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. 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. 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. 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.
