You are reading

Six Latin Kings Members Indicted for Attempted Murder

GMaps

May 4, 2017 By Jason Cohen

Six members of the Latin Kings face up to 25 years in prison for trying to kill a man outside a bar in Jackson Heights last October.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced today that six members of the Latin Kings gang were charged with the attempted murder and gang assault of a 24-year-old man.

“The defendants are accused of viciously attacking and seriously injuring a young man apparently for no other reason than he was not a member of the Latin Kings gang,” Brown said in a statement.

“Gang violence will not be tolerated in Queens County. The defendants’ poor choice in pursuing gang membership and the violence that are a part of that lifestyle have led them to be charged with serious felonies that carry the possibility of lengthy prison sentences.”

The six defendants – Michael (“Menace”) Aragundi, Jonathan (“Butters”) Duy, Jordan (“JCap”) Leon, Wilson (“Suave”) Matute, Luis (“Frosty”) Mayancela and Luis (“Scar”) Minchala – were arraigned yesterday on a seven-count indictment charging each of them with one count of second-degree attempted murder, one count of first-degree gang assault, one count of first-degree assault, two counts of first-degree robbery, one count of second-degree robbery and one count of second-degree assault. The defendants, all from Queens, were ordered to return to court July 10.

The District Attorney said the victim was standing outside of the El Paisa bar, located at 87-05 Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights, during the early morning hours of Oct. 29, 2016, when a group of men, including the six defendants, approached him. Seven of the men – including defendants Aragundi, Duy, Leon, Matute and Mayancela – allegedly began punching and stabbing him.

It is alleged that although the defendant Minchala did not participate in the assault, he later told police that he was present at the scene to oversee the assault and that he directed other gang members to assault the victim.

Additionally, it is alleged that a cane that the victim was holding was taken from him and used in the assault. Following the assault, the assailants allegedly fled the scene, leaving the victim bleeding in front of the bar.

The victim was transported to a hospital, where he was treated for 11 stab wounds and lacerations, including a cut to the head and two stab wounds to the neck. The victim also suffered possible nerve damage to his left arm, which has left him with numbness in his arm and hand.