MS-13 Gangster Guilty in "Brutal" Huntington Murder

By Nolan Cleary

An MS-13 gang member has plead guilty to the killing of an 18 year old Huntington man.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced Wednesday that 25 year old Anthony Gutierrez Meza of Valley Stream had admitted to first degree manslaughter in the killing of Estiven Abrego Gomez.

"This was a brutal, senseless and vicious execution of a young man who had his whole life ahead of him," Tierney said. "This guilty plea does nothing to bring Estiven Abrego Gomez back, but it will keep the defendant in prison and away from the public for a significant prison term."

The murder happened in 2016, when Meza received the order from Elmer Gilberto Santos Contreras, a more powerful MS-13 gang chief, to kill Gomez.

Meza messaged Gomez on Facebook, asking him if he wanted to smoke marijuana at a near by park. Meza agreed but was surrounded by Carlos Lopez Campos and five other gang members carrying baseball bats, machetes and other weapons upon entering the park.

Gomez attempted to flee but was knocked down, and was hit and stabbed repeatedly before dying. Gomez's wounds were so deep, nearly both of his hands were sliced off. The MS-13 murder squad then fled the scene.

Gomez's body was discovered by a local resident. The Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office declared that Gomez had died of sharp force injuries and blunt force trauma. Meza, Contreras and Campos were arrested in connection to Meza's murder. Contreras and Campos plead guilty to second degree murder in 2019 and 2021. Meza plead guilty on May 30.

MS-13 is a criminal gang formed in 1980's Los Angeles by migrants from El Salvador. The gang has spread throughout the United States and back to El Salvador, with an estimated 50,000 gang members.

Meza is set to return to court on July 11 where he faces a 22 year prison sentence.