Court throws out 1st-degree murder conviction in Bronx 'Justice for Junior' case

THE BRONX, N.Y (PIX11) -- The Appellate Division of New York State Supreme Court on Thursday vacated the first-degree murder conviction of Jonaiki Martinez-Estrella, the Bronx man who was caught on video inflicting the lethal neck wound that killed 15-year-old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz in June 2018.

The appellate court ruled Martinez-Estrella must now be re-sentenced under second-degree murder and wrote: “The evidence established that the defendant committed an extremely heinous second-degree murder. However, we vacate the conviction of first-degree murder under Penal Law 125.27 because the evidence did not establish the very specific elements of that crime.”

On Oct. 11, 2019, Judge Robert Neary sentenced Martinez-Estrella to life without parole on the first-degree murder conviction, which involved an element of “torture.” The appellate judges disagreed with that element in the case.

Guzman-Feliz was chased by four cars filled with members of the Trinitarios gang
on June 20, 2018. They had mistakenly thought Guzman-Feliz belonged to a rival set of the gang.

The teen tried to hide in a bodega but was dragged out and stabbed on the sidewalk on Bathgate Avenue. He collapsed outside St. Barnabas Hospital and bled to death.

The horrific attack was captured on surveillance video and shared widely on social media at the time of his murder. The viral video sparked the "Justice for Junior" movement.

At least 13 members of the gang have been sentenced, many receiving 25 years to life. Some took plea bargains for a manslaughter conviction.