Alleged MS-13 gang member accused in 2 violent killings in New York
NEW YORK (PIX11) -- Alleged MS-13 gang member Gerson Hernandez, 21, of Uniondale, New York, has been arraigned in connection with two shootings that took place in 2022, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.
In September 2022, Hernandez and another person were involved in a dispute with two other people outside a McDonald’s in Hempstead, New York.
According to police, Hernandez allegedly saw a friend riding nearby on a bicycle. The friend, who was unapprehended by police, allegedly pulled out a gun and shot the victim multiple times. The victim was also struck with a large knife and was left to die on the curb, prosecutors said.
Earlier that same year, in July of 2022, Henandez and two others allegedly surrounded another victim, Walter Ochoa, in a park. The group then shot, slashed and stabbed him, according to prosecutors.
Ochoa was pronounced dead at the scene.
“In less than two months, Hernandez allegedly participated in the killings of two men, who were surrounded and slashed with knives after they had been shot,” District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. “MS-13 has wreaked havoc across Long Island and taken too many lives.”
Hernadez is facing charges of murder in the second degree and gang assault in the second degree. If convicted, these charges carry a maximum sentence of 40 years to life in prison.
He was remanded and is due back in court on June 6.
The other alleged gang members who were with Hernandez have not been apprehended by police.