In this Sept. 27, 2016 file photo, a poster featuring photos of Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cueva is part of a memorial near the spot where their bodies were found in Brentwood, N.Y. The girls are among four teenagers from Brentwood High School that have been found dead this past month in a string of brutal killings that assistant Suffolk County Police Commissioner Justin Meyers says may be tied to gang violence. (AP Photo/Claudia Torrens, File)BRENTWOOD, N.Y. (AP) – Thirty-five suspected members of a Long Island gang have been arrested amid a string of brutal killings, including the discovery of a teenager’s skeletal remains.
Jose Pena-Hernandez, 18, was believed to be a member of the MS-13 gang with links to El Salvador and Los Angeles, the Suffolk County assistant police commissioner, Justin Meyers, told The Associated Press on Friday.
The teen’s remains were found earlier this week in Brentwood, a hamlet of 60,000 about 40 miles east of Manhattan where law enforcement officials have intensified their battle against gang violence.
This past month, four teenagers from Brentwood High School were found dead.
The body of 15-year-old Nisa Mickens, who suffered head trauma and lacerations, was dumped on a road on Sept. 13, police said. Her best friend, 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas, was found beaten to death a day later behind a home.