Posted on: October 05, 2026 02:00 PM

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High ranking ms 13 gang member sentenced to 60 years imprisonment for racketeering seven murders multiple attempted murders Arson and firearms offenses

In federal court in Central Islip, Jairo Saenz, also known as “Funny,” a high-ranking member of the Brentwood/Central Islip chapter of the Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside (Sailors) clique of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, a transnational criminal organization, was sentenced by United States District Judge Gary R. Brown to 60 years’ in prison for racketeering, including predicate racketeering acts relating to his participation in seven murders, namely, the January 28, 2016 murder of Michael Johnson; the April 29, 2016 murder of Oscar Acosta; the September 13, 2016 murders of Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens; the October 10, 2016 murder of Javier Castillo; the October 13, 2016 murder of Dewann Stacks; and the January 30, 2017 murder of Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla.  Saenz’s sentence also reflected his participation in three attempted murders, arson, narcotics trafficking, firearms offenses and a conspiracy to kill Marcus Bohannon, who was murdered on September 5, 2016 by other members of the MS-13.  Saenz pleaded guilty to these crimes on January 14, 2025.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Kevin Catalina, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the sentence.

“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,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “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.”

“The MS-13 gang members’ reign of brutality — marked by murders, attempted murders, arson, and firearms offenses — can no longer inflict harm on our communities.  The FBI's Safe Streets Task Force will continue pursuing MS-13’s leadership at every level until every community is free from their violence and intimidation,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.

"Saenz was essentially a serial killer, having played a role in seven murders and three attempted murders," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said.  "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.”

According to court filings and statements made during the guilty plea and sentencing proceedings, Jairo Saenz was a high-ranking member of the Brentwood/Central Islip chapter of the Sailors clique of the MS-13 – one of the more powerful, violent and well-established cliques on the East Coast of the United States.  At the time of his crimes, he was second in command to his brother, Alexi Saenz, who pleaded guilty to the same crimes on July 10, 2024, and who was sentenced on July 2, 2025 principally to 68 years’ imprisonment.  Jairo Saenz committed the following crimes to maintain and increase his membership and status within the gang, and to further the mission of the MS-13:

January 28, 2016 Murder of Michael Johnson

On January 28, 2016, Alexi Saenz and other MS-13 members and associates were at the Jocorena Deli in Brentwood, where they saw 29-year-old Michael Johnson, and claimed to recognize him as a member of the rival Bloods street gang.  At that point, Johnson was marked as their “food” – a reference to their intention to kill him.

After receiving the requisite approval from the New York leader of the Sailors clique to commit this murder, Alexi Saenz contacted Jairo Saenz and several other MS-13 members, informed them of the plan to kill Johnson and instructed them to bring weapons, including a machete and a baseball bat, to a wooded area in Brentwood.  Alexi Saenz then lured Johnson to that secluded meeting location under the guise of smoking marijuana.  The MS-13 members and associates, including Jairo Saenz, ambushed Johnson from behind – striking Johnson with the baseball bat, stabbing him with a knife and taking turns hacking him with the machete.  They fled after hearing police sirens in the area.

Johnson was reported missing by family members. Less than one week after his murder, on February 2, 2016, members of the SCPD responded to a 911 call about a body found in the woods by a passerby and recovered Johnson’s body.  An autopsy determined Johnson’s cause of death to be sharp and blunt force injuries.  

April 29, 2016 Murder of Oscar Acosta

In early 2016, Alexi Saenz, Jairo Saenz and their fellow Sailors clique members decided to “green light,” or approve, the murder of 19-year-old Oscar Acosta because they suspected that he was associating with the rival 18th Street gang after previously aligning himself with the MS-13.  The New York Sailors clique leader assigned roles as to which members would take the lead in planning and carrying out the murder.

On April 29, 2016, MS-13 members met Acosta in a wooded area near an elementary school in Brentwood where he had been lured under the guise of smoking marijuana.  They brutally beat Acosta with tree limbs, knocking him unconscious. They bound Acosta’s hands and feet, wrapped an article of clothing around his mouth to prevent him from making noise and summoned other MS-13 members, including Alexi Saenz and Jairo Saenz, who arrived together.  The MS-13 members loaded Acosta into the trunk of the Saenz brothers’ car, and drove to a more secluded area in Brentwood near the abandoned Pilgrim State Psychiatric Hospital.  At the direction of Alexi Saenz, the MS-13 members removed Acosta, who was still alive, from the trunk and carried him deeper into the woods where they took turns hacking him to death with a machete.  The murder was supervised by the Saenz brothers.  The MS-13 members then buried Acosta’s body in a shallow grave.

Acosta’s body was discovered by law enforcement nearly five months later, on September 16, 2016, during a search for another MS-13 victim.  His cause of death was homicidal violence, including sharp and blunt force injuries to his head and torso.

July 18, 2016 Attempted Murders of John Doe #1 and John Doe #2

On July 18, 2016, during a Sailors clique meeting at the Saenz brothers’ house in Central Islip, Alexi Saenz instructed the group to hunt for rival gang members who had been disrespectful to the MS-13, to attack and kill them.

Later that evening, Jairo Saenz and other members of the MS-13, who were driving around Brentwood armed with firearms and a machete, spotted a group of men on Apple Street.  Believing these men to be members of a rival gang, three MS-13 members got out of the car driven by Jairo Saenz and attacked the group, firing rounds from two different guns, and then using a machete to hack at one of the men who had fallen to the ground.

Two individuals were injured as a result of this attack.  John Doe #1 was struck with a bullet, but survived.  John Doe #2 was attacked with a machete, and was permanently disfigured.

August 10, 2016 Attempted Murders of Suspected Rival Gang Members

In 2016, members of the MS-13 were engaged in a series of disputes with members of the Goon Squad, a rival gang in Brentwood.

On August 10, 2016, Alexi Saenz and another MS-13 member drove through the neighborhood around Lukens Avenue in Brentwood, and spotted several men who they believed were members of the Goon Squad. They then rallied other members of the Sailors clique, including Jairo Saenz, to come kill the rivals.

The MS-13 members divided into two vehicles and drove towards the house where the suspected Goon Squad members had been spotted.  The Saenz brothers’ car kept watch for the police, while two other MS-13 members, each armed with a gun, approached the group of suspected rivals and fired numerous shots in their direction.  No one was hit, although a stray bullet entered a neighbor’s house and struck the headboard of a bed in which the neighbor was sleeping.

September 5, 2016 Murder of Marcus Bohannon

On September 4, 2016, after a Sailors clique meeting at the Saenz brothers’ house in Central Islip, Jairo Saenz, Alexi Saenz and other MS-13 members went out hunting for rival gang members to kill.

The MS-13 members separated into several cars and drove around Central Islip and Brentwood, until Alexi Saenz’s group spotted 27-year old Marcus Bohannon walking along Lowell Avenue in Central Islip in the early morning hours of September 5.  Suspecting that Bohannon was a member of the rival Bloods gang, two MS-13 members, carrying firearms, got out of the vehicle, approached him and started shooting.  Bohannon was struck nine times, including in his head, neck, and chest, and died from his wounds.

September 12, 2016 Arson

During the summer of 2016, Sailors clique members of the MS-13 regularly had altercations wit