MS-13 gang member pleads guilty in attack on 2 women, 2-year-old girl, DA says

An MS-13 gang member who authorities said sexually “brutalized” a 2-year-old girl and tried to kill her, her mother and another woman in three separate attacks in Hempstead in 2017 has pleaded guilty to attempted murder and other crimes.

Tommy Alvarado-Ventura, 33, of Hempstead, is expected to spend 26 years and possibly the rest of his life in prison under the plea agreement reached Wednesday between his attorney, prosecutors and a judge.

“Tommy Alvarado-Ventura is one of the most dangerous and vicious people we have ever seen in Nassau County and everyone is safer with him behind bars for life,” Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said Thursday in a news release.

Nassau Supervising Judge Teresa Corrigan indicated Wednesday that she would impose a prison term of 26 years to life at Alvarado-Ventura’s sentencing, which is scheduled for March 20 in Nassau County Court in Mineola, according to the news release. Prosecutors had asked for a prison term of 30 years to life.

The violence began on March 22, 2017, after Alvarado-Ventura, also known as Montana, went to his girlfriend’s Hempstead apartment to baby-sit her children — the girl, 2, and a boy, 4 — while she worked.

“The defendant tried to kill the woman’s 2-year-old daughter by savagely beating her about the face, strangling her and sexually assaulting her,” according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors did not say what prompted Alvarado-Ventura to attack the toddler. They said he then left the apartment and went to El Mariachi Loco bar, where he got into an argument with a 24-year old woman over the purchase of marijuana, according to authorities.

Alvarado-Ventura stabbed and slashed the woman in the back, thigh and hands, prosecutors said.

“He then put the knife inside her mouth and slashed the corner of her face, leaving a scar,” they said.

While Alvarado-Ventura was attacking the woman, whom police did not name, his co-defendant, Antony Almendarez, prevented others from helping her, according to prosecutors.

The men fled when they realized that witnesses were calling 911, prosecutors said.

Alvarado-Ventura returned to his girlfriend's apartment. The woman, whom authorities also did not identify, by that time had returned home from work and confronted him about the attack on her daughter, prosecutors said. Alvarado-Ventura tried to kill his girlfriend by “savagely” beating her about the face and stabbing her in the arms, hands and neck, prosecutors said. 

After Alvarado-Ventura went to bed, Nassau police said his girlfriend enlisted the help of a neighbor who called for help.

Alvarado-Ventura, who is in custody, pleaded guilty to all 16 counts in indictment handed up by a grand jury, prosecutors said.

Alvarado-Ventura’s attorney, Christopher Cassar of Huntington, said there is “absolutely no evidence” that his client is a member of MS-13. The district attorney’s office is “practicing fear mongering by deliberately arousing public fear or alarm about falsely claiming that Tommy is associated with MS-13,” he said.

With Ellen Yan