Members of the Trinitarios street gang have pleaded guilty in federal court to a Queens murder and a run of violent carjackings that, according to prosecutors, terrorized neighborhoods in late 2022 and early 2023. The admissions were announced Thursday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York and flagged on the office's official X account, marking a key milestone in a multi-agency probe that federal officials have framed as part of a wider crackdown on gang violence across the city.
Prosecutors' account of the crimes
According to a superseding indictment unsealed in January 2024 by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, a Trinitarios-aligned crew was charged with multiple shootings and armed carjackings in Queens and nearby areas. The filing named four defendants: Amaury Guzmán, Ian Diez, Ruffi Fernández and Jonathan Rodríguez.
The indictment laid out a rapid-fire sequence of incidents on Nov. 19–22, 2022, and Feb. 1, 2023, including one fatal shooting, additional gunfire that did not kill but still put people in danger, and several carjackings. Prosecutors said ballistics work tied a 9mm "ghost gun" that was recovered after a crash to the series of attacks described in the case.
What the office announced Thursday
In a post on its official X account on Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said the defendants "pleaded guilty to murder and violent carjackings." The brief social media announcement did not spell out which of the four individuals named in the earlier indictment entered pleas or list the specific counts they admitted.
Those details are expected to appear in written plea agreements and related filings on the court docket. Upcoming entries should also show the schedule for sentencing hearings, giving a clearer picture of how the case will move through its final stages.
Part of a wider federal push
Federal prosecutors and law enforcement partners have been pressing a series of Trinitarios-related cases across the region. As the U.S. Attorney's Office, EDNY noted last year, another Trinitarios leader received a sentence of more than 15 years in prison for a 2021 Queens shooting that wounded three people.
The office has said that these gang cases are being handled by its Organized Crime and Gangs Section, with investigative support from the FBI and local police departments, as part of a coordinated strategy to disrupt violent crews.
Legal implications and next steps
Guilty pleas in federal court ordinarily set the stage for sentencing by a judge, following the preparation of a presentence report and the collection of victim-impact statements. The earlier indictment in this case outlined statutory maximum penalties that include lengthy prison terms and, for some of the charged offenses, the possibility of life behind bars.
Victims and their families will be notified of upcoming hearings and may have the opportunity to address the court at sentencing. Prosecutors have said they intend to keep pursuing accountability for violent offenders within the district as these and other gang-related cases move forward.
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