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Alleged MS-13 member gets 20-to-life in Long Island machete murder

Antonio “Duke” Cullal
Antonio “Duke” Cullal was sentenced Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree conspiracy in June.
Nassau PD

MINEOLA, N.Y. -- An alleged MS-13 member from Long Island will spent 20 years to life in prison for the murder of a man in the Massapequa Park Reserve.

Antonio "Duke" Cullal was sentenced Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree conspiracy in June.


Investigators say 19-year-old Julio Cesar Espantzay-Gonzales was reported missing on Jan. 31, 2017, and was found less than two months later in the preserve.

Espantzay-Gonzales was allegedly lured into the woods by Kevin Granados-Coreas and others on Jan. 28, 2017 with promises of marijuana and sex.

Cullal, Granados-Coreas, Raul Ponce and Gerson Stanley Juarez hacked Espantzay-Gonzales to death with machetes and disposed of the body under tree branches and leaves, the Nassau District Attorney's Office said.

According to the indictment, Carlos "Pikachu" Portillo and Roberto "Splinter" Abrego-Reyes, allegedly ordered for the killing because Espantzay-Gonzales was perceived to be an enemy of the gang.

Cullal was arrested in Maryland in October 2017. The cases against Portillo, Granados-Coreas, Ponce and Abrego-Reyes are still pending, the Nassau DA said.