Two MS-13 Members Plead Guilty to Attempted Murder in Violent Hempstead Stabbings

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MINEOLA, N.Y. — Two self-identified MS-13 gang members have pleaded guilty to attempted murder in connection with a brutal assault and stabbing of two men in Hempstead earlier this year, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly. Brandon Meza-Hernandez, 32, and Jonny Turcios, 35, admitted to charges on November 6 before Judge Howard Sturim, concluding their roles in a violent incident that left two men seriously injured.

Meza-Hernandez and Turcios each pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder in the second degree, a class B felony. Meza-Hernandez is set to be sentenced to 10 years in prison on January 9, 2025, while Turcios faces a 12-year sentence scheduled for January 7, 2025.

The attack occurred on January 8, 2024, between 3:45 a.m. and 4:00 a.m., after an altercation broke out near 76 North Franklin Street in Hempstead. Meza-Hernandez, Turcios, and an unidentified man approached one of the victims, allegedly assaulting him while proclaiming their association with MS-13. According to prosecutors, Turcios displayed MS-13 hand signs during the assault.

A second victim attempted to intervene, leading to a further physical confrontation. A bar bouncer from the nearby El Tenampa Bar reportedly separated the men, allowing the victims to briefly leave the scene. However, Meza-Hernandez and Turcios, joined by a third defendant, Jose Lovo Parada, pursued the victims in a vehicle, cornering them in a dead-end alley behind 79 Main Street.

Prosecutors stated that Turcios drove the vehicle toward the victims at high speed, striking at least one of them. Afterward, all three defendants allegedly exited the vehicle and continued their attack, with Meza-Hernandez and Turcios stabbing both victims. A knife used in the attack was later recovered from Turcios during an unrelated traffic stop.