"They got what they deserved," Leandra Feliz said.
The words of the mother of 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, known as Junior, spoken outside of a Bronx courthouse Friday after a judge handed down harsh sentences for the five men convicted in his murder.
The five men, members of Los Trinitarios, were sentenced four months after they were convicted of first- and second-degree murder, conspiracy, and gang assault.
"They abused the child — 15 years old, a kid, and innocent kid, he was no gang member, he was a good kid — and now they have to pay the consequence for what they did," Leandra Feliz said at a news conference outside the courthouse.
The harshest penalty, life in prison without parole, was handed down to the man the judge called Junior's executioner, Jonaiki Martinez Estrella, who delivered the fatal stab to the neck.
Junior, a member of the NYPD Explorers program who had dreams of being a detective, was dragged out of a Bronx bodega and murdered June 20 last year. Prosecutors believe it was a case of mistaken identity.
(A file image of Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz, whom police said was killed by suspected gang members in the Bronx in June 2018.)
Three men, Jose Muniz, Elvin Garcia, and Antonio Rodriguez Hernandez Santiago, received sentences of 25 years to life in prison.
Manuel Rivera got 23 to life, a sentence of mercy, Judge Robert Neary said, because he was 18 at the time of the murder.
"This is a case for everybody, so we all are one because you all became part of this case," said Manny Ortiz, Junior's brother. "I really appreciate it as a brother."
In the sentencing, the judge said the words that came to his mind throughout the difficult case: senseless, savage, and cowardly.
One of the convicted men, Rivera, asked Junior's family for forgiveness, saying he was young and a good man.
"I do not accept any apologies because the only thing I want is my son back," Junior's mother said.
Junior's parents gave victim impact statements in Spanish before the sentencing, keeping their composure throughout.
Junior's mother said two people died that night: Junior and herself.
Junior's father, Lisandro Guzman, told the men, "I will never forgive you."
The sole outburst in court, the mother of Santiago saying her son did not kill Junior.
An attorney following the case, Christopher Carrion, said the judge handed down a sentence that fit the crime.
"I think it sends a strong message that the city is tough on crime, that you can't join a gang and hurt people the same way and if you do, you're going to be punished for it and punished very severely," Carrion said.
The story doesn't end here for the Guzman family; there are still eight more men who will stand trial for their alleged roles in Junior's murder. Two of them are scheduled for October 22.