MS-13 Leader Gets 60 Years For 7 LI Murders, Including Brentwood Teens

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — A high-ranking MS-13 member who prosecutors say helped carry out seven murders during a violent reign that terrorized Brentwood and Central Islip — including the killings of Brentwood High School students Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens — was sentenced Tuesday to 60 years in federal prison.

Jairo Saenz, 30, also known as “Funny,” was sentenced in federal court in Central Islip by U.S. District Judge Gary Brown for racketeering and other crimes tied to the Brentwood/Central Islip chapter of MS-13’s Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside, or Sailors, clique, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Saenz pleaded guilty on Jan. 14, 2025.

His racketeering conviction included acts connected to his participation in seven murders, including Michael Johnson on Jan. 28, 2016; Oscar Acosta on April 29, 2016; Cuevas and Mickens on Sept. 13, 2016; Javier Castillo on Oct. 10, 2016; Dewann Stackson Oct. 13, 2016; and Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla on Jan. 30, 2017.

His sentence also reflected his participation in three attempted murders, an arson, narcotics trafficking, firearms offenses and a conspiracy to kill Marcus Bohannon, who was fatally shot by other MS-13 members on Sept. 5, 2016, prosecutors said.

“Jairo Saenz and his brother Alexi were at the forefront of a violent reign of terror and bloodshed that plagued communities across Long Island for years,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said. “They will both spend decades in prison, effectively life sentences, for their unspeakable crimes. Our Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to work tirelessly to hold the MS-13 and its members accountable for their horrific crimes. I hope that today’s sentence brings some measure of closure to the surviving victims and the families of the fallen victims who, after these many years, continue to suffer unimaginable grief over the loss of their loved ones.”

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina called Saenz “essentially a serial killer,” citing his role in seven murders and three attempted murders.

"His horrific crimes brought national attention to the bloodshed caused by MS-13. While no amount of prison time can bring these victims back, we hope this sentence brings some measure of justice and solace to their families. We will continue to dedicate the resources necessary to ensure gang violence never takes hold in our communities.”

Prosecutors said Jairo Saenz was a high-ranking member of the Sailors clique, which they described as one of MS-13’s most powerful and violent East Coast chapters.

At the time of the crimes, Saenz was second in command to his brother, Alexi Saenz, prosecutors said.

Alexi Saenz pleaded guilty to the same crimes in July 2024 and was sentenced in July 2025 to 68 years in federal prison.

Federal prosecutors detailed a series of killings and attacks carried out by members of the clique between 2016 and 2017.

Michael Johnson

On Jan. 28, 2016, Alexi Saenz and other MS-13 members were at Jocorena Deli in Brentwood when they saw 29-year-old Michael Johnson and claimed to recognize him as a member of the rival Bloods street gang, prosecutors said.

Johnson was then marked as the gang’s “food,” a term prosecutors said referred to an intention to kill him.

After getting approval from the Sailors clique’s New York leader, Alexi Saenz contacted Jairo Saenz and other members and instructed them to bring weapons, including a machete and baseball bat, to a wooded area in Brentwood.

Johnson was lured there under the guise of smoking marijuana, prosecutors said.

Members of the gang, including Jairo Saenz, ambushed Johnson from behind, beat him with a baseball bat, stabbed him with a knife and took turns attacking him with a machete before fleeing after hearing police sirens, according to prosecutors.

Johnson was reported missing by his family.

His body was found in the woods on Feb. 2, 2016, after Suffolk County Police responded to a 911 call from a passerby. An autopsy determined that he died from sharp and blunt-force injuries.

Oscar Acosta

Prosecutors said the Saenz brothers and other clique members decided in early 2016 to “green light” the murder of 19-year-old Oscar Acosta because they suspected he was associating with the rival 18th Street gang after previously aligning himself with MS-13.

On April 29, 2016, gang members lured Acosta to a wooded area near a Brentwood elementary school under the guise of smoking marijuana, prosecutors said.

There, members beat Acosta with tree limbs until he lost consciousness, bound his hands and feet and covered his mouth to prevent him from making noise.

The Saenz brothers were then summoned to the scene and arrived together, prosecutors said.

Acosta, who was still alive, was placed in the trunk of the brothers’ car and driven to a more secluded wooded area near the abandoned Pilgrim State Psychiatric Hospital.

At Alexi Saenz’s direction, gang members carried Acosta farther into the woods and took turns attacking him with a machete, prosecutors said. The Saenz brothers supervised the killing.

Members then buried Acosta in a shallow grave.

His body was not discovered until Sept. 16, 2016, nearly five months later, while law enforcement officers were searching for another MS-13 victim.

Attempted murders on Apple Street

On July 18, 2016, prosecutors said members of the Sailors clique met at the Saenz brothers’ Central Islip home, where Alexi Saenz instructed them to hunt down rival gang members who had allegedly disrespected MS-13.

Later that night, Jairo Saenz drove other MS-13 members around Brentwood while they were armed with guns and a machete, prosecutors said.

The group spotted several men on Apple Street whom they believed were members of a rival gang.

Three gang members got out of the vehicle Saenz was driving and attacked the group, firing two guns and using a machete on one man who had fallen to the ground, prosecutors said.

One victim was shot but survived. A second man survived a machete attack but was permanently disfigured, according to prosecutors.

Lukens Avenue shooting

Less than a month later, prosecutors said the Sailors clique targeted suspected members of another Brentwood gang known as the Goon Squad.

On Aug. 10, 2016, Alexi Saenz and another MS-13 member spotted several men near Lukens Avenue whom they believed were Goon Squad members and summoned other members of the clique, including Jairo Saenz.

The gang split into two vehicles and drove toward the house where the suspected rivals had been seen.

Prosecutors said the Saenz brothers’ vehicle acted as a lookout for police while two other MS-13 members approached the group and opened fire.

No one was struck, but one stray bullet entered a neighboring house and struck the headboard of a bed where a resident was sleeping, prosecutors said.

Marcus Bohannon

After a clique meeting at the Saenz brothers’ Central Islip home on Sept. 4, 2016, prosecutors said Jairo and Alexi Saenz and other gang members went searching for rival gang members to kill.

The group divided among several vehicles and drove through Central Islip and Brentwood.

In the early morning hours of Sept. 5, members spotted 27-year-old Marcus Bohannon walking on Lowell Avenue in Central Islip and suspected he was a member of the Bloods, prosecutors said.

Two armed MS-13 members approached Bohannon and opened fire, striking him nine times, including in the head, neck and chest, killing him.

Jairo Saenz’s sentence included his participation in the conspiracy to kill Bohannon, prosecutors said.

Brentwood arson

Days later, members of the clique retaliated against rivals in a Brentwood neighborhood where MS-13 members had been involved in repeated confrontations, prosecutors said.

On Sept. 12, 2016, Alexi Saenz directed gang members to buy gasoline and set fire to a vehicle parked at a home on Freeman Avenue.

Jairo Saenz drove the other gang members to the house, prosecutors said.

Members poured gasoline over a car in the driveway and set it on fire. The vehicle exploded, and the blaze spread to another parked car, according to prosecutors.

Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens

One day later came two of the killings that brought national attention to MS-13 violence on Long Island.

On Sept. 13, 2016, Sailors clique members killed Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16, both Brentwood High School students.

Prosecutors said Cuevas had been involved in several disputes with MS-13 members and associates in the months leading up to her death.

About a week before the killings, Cuevas and several friends were involved in an altercation with MS-13 members at Brentwood High School. Gang members later vowed revenge, according to prosecutors.

On the evening of Sept. 13, Jairo and Alexi Saenz and other gang members were driving in separate vehicles through Brentwood looking for rival gang members to attack, prosecutors said.

One group spotted Cuevas and Mickens walking on Stahley Street.

After recognizing Cuevas, members called the Saenz brothers and received permission to kill the girls, prosecutors said.

Several gang members chased the teens and attacked them with baseball bats and a machete while the Saenz brothers’ car drove nearby watching for police, according to prosecutors.

Afterward, the group returned to the Saenz brothers’ Central Islip home, changed clothing and hid the weapons, prosecutors said.

Mickens’ body was discovered later that night on Stahley Street, near Cuevas’ home.

Cuevas’ body was found the following day behind a home near where Mickens had been discovered.

Javier Castillo

Less than a month later, prosecutors said the gang targeted 15-year-old Javier Castillo because members believed he was affiliated with the rival 18th Street gang.

On Oct. 10, 2016, Jairo Saenz and other Sailors clique members convinced Castillo, who lived in Central Islip, to travel with them to Freeport under the guise of smoking marijuana.

There, they met Alexi Saenz and other MS-13 members.

The group lured Castillo to an isolated marsh area in Cow Meadow Park, where gang members took turns attacking him with a machete, prosecutors said.

They buried Castillo’s body in a hole at the park.

His remains were not recovered until approximately one year later, in October 2017.

Dewann Stacks

Three days after Castillo’s murder, prosecutors said the Saenz brothers and other MS-13 members were again driving around Central Islip and Brentwood looking for suspected rival gang members.

On Oct. 13, 2016, they spotted 34-year-old Dewann Stacks and believed he was a rival, prosecutors said.

Alexi Saenz authorized his killing.

Jairo Saenz then drove three MS-13 members armed with two machetes and a baseball bat to Stacks’ location on American Boulevard in Brentwood, prosecutors said.

The three men got out and beat and hacked Stacks to death.

Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla

The final murder included in Jairo Saenz’s racketeering conviction occurred Jan. 30, 2017, prosecutors said.

That morning, Alexi Saenz and other clique members saw 29-year-old Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla inside El Campesino Deli in Central Islip.

Alvarado-Bonilla was wearing a football jersey with the number 18, which gang members interpreted as evidence that he belonged to the rival 18th Street gang, prosecutors said.

Jairo Saenz drove gang members to retrieve a mask and another vehicle for use in the killing, while Alexi Saenz provided the clique’s 9mm handgun, prosecutors said.

At about 10:30 a.m., a masked gang member entered the deli, approached Alvarado-Bonilla from behind and shot him multiple times.

One bullet passed through Alvarado-Bonilla’s head and struck a female deli employee in the chest, prosecutors said.

Alvarado-Bonilla died. The employee survived.

Drug trafficking funded clique

Prosecutors said the violence was accompanied by a narcotics operation used to finance the Sailors clique.

From approximately April 2016 through March 2017, Jairo and Alexi Saenz obtained wholesale quantities of cocaine and marijuana and distributed the drugs to clique members and associates for street-level sales in Brentwood and surrounding communities.

Proceeds were turned over to the Saenz brothers and used to purchase firearms, obtain additional narcotics and wire money to MS-13 leaders in El Salvador, prosecutors said.

The federal prosecution was part of a broader law-enforcement effort targeting MS-13 on Long Island.

Since 2003, hundreds of MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted of racketeering and other felonies in the Eastern District of New York, prosecutors said.

Since 2010, the office has obtained indictments accusing MS-13 members of carrying out more than 80 murders in the district.