Gang members plead guilty in murder of two 17-year-old rival members

February 4, 2014 From U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York

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Two members of the Ñetas street gang, Alvaro Cabral, also known as “Boobi,” and Jason Cabral, also known as “J-Live,” pleaded guilty to the 2004 murders of Anthony Marcano; and Fabian Mestres.

Stephanie DiCarlo-Cabral, an associate of the gang and at the time the girlfriend of Alvaro Cabral, pleaded guilty to robbery and using a firearm in connection with the robbery of Marcano and Mestres.

“These were brutal, senseless gang murders,” stated United States Attorney for the Eastern District Loretta Lynch. “The defendants stuffed the victims into the trunk of a car in the dog days of August, and then drove them to their execution.”

An investigation revealed that on August 10, 2004, at the direction of Jason Cabral, the leader of gang, the defendants devised a plan to rob and kill 17-year-old Marcano, a member of a rival gang, the Latin Kings. As part of the plan, the defendants lured Marcano to a house in Brentwood. Marcano arrived with 17-year-old Fabian Mestres, a fellow “Pee Wee” member of the Latin Kings.

Once inside the house, Marcano and Mestres were restrained with duct tape, and their drugs, money and jewelry were stolen. The victims were stuffed into the trunk of a car and driven to a warehouse in Queens where Luis Benitez, with the assistance of Alvaro Cabral, shot them with a shotgun. Mestres was shot once in the head, and Marcano was shot once in the head and once in the back of the neck. Marcano’s and Mestres’s bodies were found behind a warehouse in Queens the following day.

The Carbal pleas took place before United States District Judge Joanna Seybert. When sentenced, the defendants face life in prison.