Teen Charged in Alleged MS-13 Murder of Boy Hacked to Death by Machete: DA

A Freeport teen linked to the MS-13 gang has been charged in the murder of a 15-year-old boy found hacked to death with a machete on Long Island, officials said.

Dennis Lopez, 18, was charged with murder in the second degree for the "vicious" death of Angel Soler in July 2017, the Nassau County District Attorney's office said.

Two other alleged MS-13 members, David Sosa Guevara and Victor Lopez, were previously indicted for Soler's murder, and a fourth suspect, Josue Antonio Figueroa-Velasquez, was arrested on murder charges related to the boy's death in May, the DA's office said. Figueroa-Velasquez pleaded not guilty at his arraignent this past spring.

Soler left his home in Roosevelt on a bicycle last July, according to police. His mutilated body was found in October, in a wooded area five minutes from his home. The boy was attacked by a group of people who hacked him to death with a machete, officials said.

Dennis Lopez, known as Maliante, was part of the Long Island chapter of MS-13's "Hollywood Clique," headed by Sosa Guevara, the DA's office said.

Four other alleged MS-13 members, Ramon Martines, Jairon Gudiel, Raul Ponce, and Jose Echeverrio, were indicted on charges including conspiracy, weapons possession and drug charges as part of Wednesday's indictment.

Federal prosecutors believe MS-13 has thousands of members across the country. As of May, the gang had been linked to more than two dozen deaths on Long Island over the past two years.