Alleged MS-13 member sentenced to 23 years to life in 2021 Cow Meadow Park murder, Nassau DA says

An alleged MS-13 gang member was sentenced Friday to 23-years-to-life in prison for the 2021 murder of an 18-year-old in Cow Meadow Park and the attempted murder of a Nassau police detective, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said.

Authorities said an investigation into the murder revealed that a male co-defendant had contacted Garcia-Carbajal on social media, inviting him to the park "to hang out with girls." The victim was picked up in a car and brought to the park — entering with “multiple people,” including Moralez. Once inside the park, Garcia-Carbajal was shot once in the head, the district attorney’s office said in a statement.

A family member reported Garcia-Carbajal missing, and his body was discovered the next day. The district attorney’s office said the teen was “a perceived enemy” of MS-13 due to social media posts he’d made.

Additional cases against co-defendants Tulio Ayala, Manuel Aparicio Gomez, Kevin Torres and Henry Canales are pending.

The district attorney’s office said that two weeks after the murder of Garcia-Carbajal, Moralez was a passenger in a Hyundai SUV that was “operating at a high rate of speed” in a Hempstead parking lot when police officers attempted a vehicle stop. When a Nassau police officer approached the vehicle, authorities said Moralez exited the SUV — and pointed a loaded gun at the officer’s chest.

He was arrested at the scene.

“Marvin Moralez participated in the callous murder of an 18-year-old man, and just two week later, pointed a loaded gun at a police officer’s chest,” Donnelly said in a statement Friday, adding: “This dangerous individual will now spend decades in prison paying for his crimes, unable to cause further harm to Nassau communities.”

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”