High-ranking MS-13 Lieutenant pleads guilty to murder
Victor Lopez aka Persa participated in brutal murder of 15-year old Angel Soler in 2017 and conspired to kill second person
MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas, Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division, Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, New York and Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder announced that a high-ranking MS-13 gang member pleaded guilty today to murder and related charges for the July 2017 murder of a 15-year old in Roosevelt.
Victor Lopez, also known as Persa, 31, of Roosevelt, pleaded guilty before Judge Patricia Harrington to charges of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony), Conspiracy in the Second Degree (a B felony) and Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree (an E felony). The defendant is expected to be sentenced to 23 years to life in prison on Jan. 23, 2020.
“This defendant lured 15-year-old Angel Soler into the woods where he was savagely murdered by MS-13 gang members,” DA Singas said. “I hope that today’s guilty plea, and that of his co-defendant David Sosa-Guevara on Monday, affords some sense of justice to Angel’s loved ones. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of law enforcement we have decimated MS-13’s leadership on Long Island, and broken their grip of terror on our communities, and we will continue this work until this brutal gang is eliminated.”
“The murder of Angel Soler is evidence of MS-13’s brutality and is an example of the gang’s underlying ideology,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan. “Through law enforcement collaboration, MS-13 members continue to be arrested and prosecuted in order to keep our communities safe from gang violence.”
“Today, defendant Victor Lopez, a high-ranking member of MS-13 pled guilty to the brutal murder of Angel Solar and conspiring to commit another murder. This is the second time in days that the individuals responsible for this murder have pled guilty in this case,” said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. “The many law enforcement agencies and their investigators did an outstanding job with this multi-jurisdictional investigation and I commend their diligence and dedication. Nassau County will continue their zero-tolerance approach toward illegal gang activity”.
“In sticking with the gang’s mantra of kill, rape and control, this MS-13 gang member admits to the brutal murder of a teenager,” said Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of HSI New York. “It’s clear that the members of this gang have no regard for human life, and law enforcement continues to partner in these investigations to keep our communities safe.”
DA Singas said that Lopez was a high-ranking lieutenant in MS-13’s Hollywood Clique and a close associate of David Sosa-Guevara – also known as Risky – the head of the clique on Long Island. Lopez oversaw the activities of the members of the Hollywood Clique in Nassau and Suffolk counties and was in charge of enforcement within the gang subgroup.
Soler was murdered on July 21, 2017, in Nassau County. The victim’s body was mutilated – bearing injuries consistent with the use of a machete – and he suffered blunt force trauma to the head. Soler was left buried until his remains were discovered under cement on October 19, 2017, in a remote wooded area in Roosevelt, just south of the Southern State Parkway. The defendant admitted luring him to the location.
The defendant was arrested by members of the Nassau County Police Department on January 11, 2018. Sosa-Guevara pleaded guilty on December 9, 2019, to murder and conspiracy charges. He is expected to be sentenced to 23 years to life in prison on January 24, 2020.
Deputy Chief Jared Rosenblatt of DA Singas’ Major Offense Bureau, Deputy Chief Veronica Guariglia and Assistant District Attorney Charles Dunn of the Special Operations and Narcotics Bureau are prosecuting this case. The defendant is represented by Maureen McBride, Esq.
The Nassau County District Attorney thanks the following agencies for their assistance in this investigation:
- Anne Arundel County Police Department (Maryland)
- Bedford County Commonwealth Attorney (Virginia)
- Bedford County Sheriff’s Office (Virginia)
- Drug Enforcement Administration Houston Division
- Drug Enforcement Administration Long Island District Office
- Drug Enforcement Administration San Salvador Country Office
- Drug Enforcement Administration Washington, D.C. Division
- Federal Bureau of Investigation Baltimore
- Federal Bureau of Investigation Long Island Gang Task Force
- Federal Bureau of Investigation Newark
- Federal Bureau of Investigation New York
- Homeland Security Investigations
- Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office (Texas)
- Maryland State Police
- Maryland State’s Attorney, Harford County
- Maryland State’s Attorney, Prince George’s County
- Nassau County Police Department
- Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York
- Prince George’s County Police Department (Maryland)
- Suffolk County Police Department
- United States Attorney’s Office, Baltimore
- United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York
- United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York
