Alleged MS-13 gang member charged in Uniondale homicide, Nassau police say

An alleged MS-13 gang member who lured a former boyfriend into a fatal ambush in Uniondale woods, where his remains were discovered last year, was charged with second-degree murder Thursday, Nassau police said.

Sandra Tobar Mejia, 22, of Hempstead, participated in a June 2016 scheme to kill Osmin Campos-Sandoval, 19, because he was a member of the 18th Street gang, an MS-13 rival, Det. Lt., Stephen Fitzpatrick said during a news conference in Mineola.

Mejia and other MS-13 members smoked marijuana with Campos-Sandoval in the woods near the Uniondale water tower to put him at ease, Fitzpatrick said. "They butchered him, hit him and buried him," Fitzpatrick said.

The remains of Campos-Sandoval, also of Hempstead, were recovered on Oct. 6, according to Fitzpatrick, the commander of the Nassau police homicide squad.

"There are other arrests to be made on this," Fitzpatrick said. "The people that are outstanding are incarcerated. They are incarcerated on unrelated crimes, and in the next coming week we will probably be arresting two to three other male suspects."

Mejia was arraigned virtually Thursday by Nassau Judge Chris J. Coschignano, who ordered her held without bail. She is scheduled to return to court on March 4.

Mejia’s attorney, Jeff Groder of Mineola, said he did not have time to review the case and declined comment.

Mejia and Campos-Sandoval dated in their native El Salvador, Fitzpatrick said. Mejia moved to the United States in 2012 and began a relationship with an MS-13 member, officials said.