Opening Statements Expected in Junior's Bodega Death Trial

Opening statements are expected to get underway Monday in the trial of five suspected gang members believed to have taken part in the savage slaying of a 15-year-old boy inside a Bronx bodega last summer.

Jury selection proceedings started last month for the suspects facing murder charges in the horrific machete attack death of Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, who was killed in June 2018 by a group of alleged gang members in an apparent case of mistaken identity.

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Investigators say the group mistook Guzman-Feliz, who was not affiliated with any gang, for a member of the rival fraction of the Trinitarios gang. In total, more than a dozen suspects have been arrested in connection to the killing. Nine others charged in the killing are awaiting trial.

The horrifying attack on Guzman-Feliz was captured on video; he was dragged outside the bodega and set upon by a gang of men who hacked at him as he struggled to defend himself. The boy was slashed in the neck and died after running to a hospital three blocks away.

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Guzman-Feliz had been part of the NYPD's Explorers program, a group for youths interested in a law enforcement career. The New York City Police Foundation announced it planned to set up a scholarship in his name.

Since the violent attack, the community’s outpouring of love and support has been seen in a mural. Guzman-Feliz’s memory has also been honored through  the renaming of a street and a summer camp at a state park, as well as prompting the “Safe Haven Bodega” program in the city.

• Trial for Slain NYC Teen in Machete Attack Begins

from NBC New York - Top Stories http://bit.ly/2V3mh0k