Jonaiki Martinez Estrella was among several Trinitarios who dragged Junior Guzman-Feliz out of a Bronx bodega and stabbed him outside on the sidewalk, falsely believing the teen was part of a rival gang — a heinous act that rocked the city and grabbed international attention.

Judge Robert Neary in 2019 sentenced the five gangbangers who killed Guzman-Feliz, including Martinez Estrella. 

Martinez Estrella’s lawyer Steven Feinman explained that first-degree murder charges are normally reserved for cop-killings and acts of terrorism.

And for first-degree murder charges to be applied outside those situations, prosecutors must prove the additional elements that the perpetrator carried out a “course of conduct” with the intention of torturing the victim — meaning they got pleasure from the act, the lawyer said.

We declare and decree that this was an act of torture. They hunted Junior down like a wild animal and chased him, they dragged him from inside the bodega as he begged and screamed for his life. Five men ambushed Junior and stabbed him repeatedly without mercy. If this isn’t an act of torture I don’t know what is! Help us to get justice for Junior and uphold this first degree murder charge for Jonaiki Martinez Estrella.