NEW YORK (1010 WINS/ WCBS 880 NEWS) – Four gang members were indicted on Thursday in connection with a murder, multiple shootings, and armed carjackings, prosecutors said.
Amaury Guzmán, 24, Ian Diez, 19, Ruffi Fernández, 26, and Jonathan Rodríguez, 22, were all members of the Trinitarios street gang and are now facing charged for being involved in multiple shootings and armed carjackings between November 2022 and February 2023, according to the indictment.
“As alleged, the defendants repeatedly and violently terrorized the community with multiple shootings and armed carjackings,” Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York said. “Members of our community should not have to live in fear of gun violence in their homes, on the streets, or in their cars.”
The first incident was on Nov. 19, 2022, when Guzmán, Fernández and others tried to rob a marijuana dealer in Queens. Guzmán approached the victim while he was inside of his parked car and shot at him. The victim was wounded in the neck and is now in stable condition.
On Nov. 20, 2022, Guzmán and others stole a white Mercedes Benz sedan from a house in Carteret, New Jersey, and drove it to Queens. That same evening, using the stolen Mercedes, Guzmán and Rodríguez approached the driver of a parked BMW sports coupe.
Rodriguez came up to the driver with a gun and fired at him as the victim tried to drive away. The victim was shot once in the back and lost control of his car and then flipped over onto a sidewalk. He died from the gunshot wound moments later.
Two days later, Guzmán, Rodríguez and others again used the stolen car to approach a victim who had recently parked his car in Queens.
They attacked the victim at gunpoint and stole his car keys. They then drove off in the stolen previous car and new BMW X5 car only to crash into each other minutes later.
Rodríguez was arrested near the scene of the crash, but Guzmán managed to run away.
A 9mm ghost gun was found in the wrecked Mercedes and was identified through ballistic analysis as the weapon used in both the fatal and non-fatal shootings that occurred days earlier.
A couple of weeks later on Dec. 12, 2022, Guzmán, Fernández and Diez pulled up next to the driver of a Range Rover in Queens. Diez hit the driver with a hard object and the victim tried to run.
Fernández fired a gun towards the Range Rover causing a bullet to lodge in the center console of the victim’s car.
On Feb. 1, 2023, Guzmán and others attacked another victim at gunpoint in Queens and hit him in the head with their guns while stealing the keys to his Ford Mustang.
They ran off in the stolen Mustang and in a Dodge Charger. The victim had head injuries.
If convicted, Guzmán and Rodriguez are facing up to a life sentence, Fernandez is facing up to 20 years, and Diez is facing up to 15 years.