Source: Shareif Ziyadat / Getty
Carmelo and La La Anthony were among the 1,000 mourners who lined up outside of R.G. Ortiz Funeral Home in the Bronx, N.Y. on Monday. According to the New York Daily News, the couple had also visited Lesandro’s family at their home, where they gifted them a signed white Knicks jersey, a pair of white, orange and blue Air Jordans, and an Oklahoma Thunder jersey.
Six suspects—Jose Taverez, 21, Manuel Rivera, 18, and Danel Fernandez, 21; Santiago Rodriguez, 24, and Jose Muniz, 21, of Paterson, N.J., and Joniki Martinez, 24, of Freeport, L.I.—are expected at an extradition hearing in New Jersey on Tuesday in the wake of Lesandro’s murder. Leandra Feliz, Lesandro’s mother, says she hopes all involved in the criminal case are found.
“Somebody had to show my son to those people,” she told the Daily News. “Somebody had to show my Junior to those killers. It can’t happen any more with any other kid.”
A seventh suspect, Kevin Alvarez, 19, was arrested on Monday. He was charged with murder, manslaughter, gang assault, and assault, according to authorities. In the meantime, others are being sought for questioning, with additional arrests possible.
As previously reported, Lesandro was murdered on Wednesday (June 20) by several men wielding machetes after getting into an argument with them outside of Cruz and Chiky Grocery in the Bronx. Lesandro was stabbed in both sides of his neck after being dragged outside and attacked. He was then taken to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he later died.
Lesandro’s family says members of Trinitarios, a Dominican gang, has since apologized for the murder of the 15-year-old, stating via Facebook messages that they mistook him for someone else.
“The stabbing murder of this young man is among the most brutal crimes I’ve seen in my 36yr career,” NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said on Friday. “NYPD Detectives are working hard to capture these killers.”
