Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, the New York teen who was recorded being stabbed and beaten outside a bodega moments before his filmed death, succumbed from a neck wound caused by a 4-and-a-half inch knife that severed his jugular vein, a prosecutor said during opening statements on Monday.
From WPIX, Assistant District Attorney Morgan Dolan revealed the details of Guzman-Feliz‘s final moments at the onset of a first-degree murder trial for five men who were allegedly filmed attacking the 15-year-old. Dolan described the teen as being “alone, unarmed, defenseless and outmanned” as the suspects—reportedly members of the Sures set of the Trinitarios gang—targeted him, believing he was a rival member of the Sunset crew.
Police said Guzman-Feliz had no gang affiliations and claim he was the victim of mistaken identity. WNBC reported that the slain teen had participated in the NYPD’s Explorers program, a club geared toward youths interested in law enforcement.
The pursuit reportedly came to a head at a Bronx bodega, where Guzman-Feliz “begged for his life” as the mob of men cornered and dragged him out the store before stabbing and beating him to death, the prosecutor said.
Further, a witness who took the stand Monday testified that she spotted the bleeding teen from her fifth-floor apartment.
“By the time we got downstairs, he was already in front of the hospital, collapsed,” Tamika Jones recalled, according to am New York. “One of my friends took off her shirt and put it against his neck to try and stop the bleeding. He had blood all over his body. He was trying to stay alive, holding his wound himself..”
“His last words were water—he asked for water.”
Jones went on to testify that she heard one the assailants say they needed to drag Guzman-Feliz out the bodega because there were cameras in there.
Fourteen men have been criminally charged in connection with the June 20 slaying. According to WPIX, one of the men filmed dragging the teen out the bodega, Kevin Alvarez, pleaded guilty last week and is expected to take the stand during the ongoing murder trial.
[Featured Image: Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz/Facebook]
