MS-13 lieutenant sentenced to 23 years to life for 2017 machete slaying

A top MS-13 lieutenant was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison Tuesday for the 2017 machete slaying of a Roosevelt teenager, striking a "significant blow" to the gang's leadership, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said.

Victor Lopez, 31, of Roosevelt pleaded guilty on Dec. 11 to charges of second-degree murder, second-degree conspiracy and fourth-degree conspiracy for the July 21, 2017, homicide of Angel Soler, 15, of Roosevelt.

Lopez’s associate, David Sosa-Guevara, 28, of Wyandanch, was sentenced Friday to 24 years to life in prison for his role in the homicide, officials said. Lopez, known as "Persa," was a high-ranking member of the so-called Hollywood Clique on Long Island, officials said. Sosa-Guevara, known as “Risky,” led the clique, Singas said.

“A 15-year-old boy was brutally murdered because this gang perceived this child as an ‘enemy,’" Singas said in the statement. “Today’s life sentence of this gang lieutenant and last week’s life sentence of the MS-13 clique’s leader has dealt a significant blow to this criminal organization. We will continue to fight against any resurgence of MS-13 with all our dedicated law enforcement partners until they are eradicated from Nassau County.”

Lopez’s attorney could not be immediately reached for comment.

Soler’s mother brought him to the United States from Honduras to flee gang violence, Newsday has reported. Members of MS-13 targeted him because of the gang’s belief he might have been in the rival 18th Street gang, officials said.

Soler’s body was discovered by authorities on Oct. 19, 2017, nearly three months after he was killed. His mutilated corpse showed injuries consistent with a machete attack, officials said. The teen was discovered under cement, burned and with blunt-force trauma to the head in a wooded area of Roosevelt near the Southern State Parkway.