Remains found in Long Island wooded area identified as Roosevelt man, possible MS 13 victim
ROOSEVELT, Nassau County (WABC) -- Police in Nassau County have identified the body found buried last week in a wooded area of the Roosevelt Preserve.
Homicide Squad detectives determined the victim was 19-year-old Josue Amaya Leonor of Roosevelt.
The body was discovered after a search following the arrest of a third person in another murder linked to the violent MS-13 gang.
Josue Figueroa-Velasquez, 18, is now facing murder charges in the death of 16-year-old Angel Soler.
Soler's remains were found last October in a wooded area in Roosevelt after he was attacked with a machete. David Sosa-Guevara, 26, of Wyandanch, and Victor Lopez, of Roosevelt, were previously arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
Police believe his killing is linked to the deadly MS-13 gang, and Figueroa-Velasquez's arrest prompted Nassau police, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations to search for possible remains in a wooded area in Roosevelt. The body was recovered in a grave about five feet deep in the field off Frederick Avenue, and the discovery is suspected to be connected to MS-13.
Josue Amaya Leonor went missing in 2016. Last week Eyewitness News spoke with his sister after she had been told the remains may be his.
The search was prompted by a tip that came in with the arrest.
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