Four men were indicted in Suffolk County for allegedly plotting to firebomb a vehicle in Brentwood using Molotov cocktails, prosecutors said.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said Elvis Osvaldo Romero Martinez, 20, Albert Yanes Moran, 20, Lorenzo Nohely Alvarado Navarette, 18, and Lester Merino Avila, 18, were charged in connection with the alleged March plot. Prosecutors said the defendants allegedly possessed two Molotov cocktails and planned to use them against a vehicle belonging to someone involved in a dispute with one of the defendants.
According to prosecutors, the defendants allegedly gathered materials between March 9 and March 10 to make homemade Molotov cocktails.
In the early morning hours of March 10, prosecutors said the defendants met near Pilgrim Psychiatric Center in Brentwood, where they allegedly prepared Molotov cocktails using beer bottles and gasoline.
Authorities said Merino Avila allegedly drove with another person to Lexington Avenue in Brentwood to locate the intended target, while Romero Martinez, Yanes Moran and Alvarado Navarette followed in another vehicle.
At about 1:38 a.m., a Suffolk County police officer stopped a vehicle near Lexington Avenue and Caleb’s Path in Brentwood. Prosecutors said Romero Martinez, who was driving, allegedly jumped from the driver’s seat into the back seat.
The officer allegedly saw two Molotov cocktails in the rear driver’s side door, along with a container of gasoline. A later search also found a mask and lighter inside a bag that prosecutors said belonged to Yanes Moran.
Prosecutors said cellphone searches allegedly revealed conversations about planning the firebombing and obtaining the materials.
Romero Martinez, Alvarado Navarette and Yanes Moran were arraigned May 26 before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz on charges of fourth-degree conspiracy, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fifth-degree conspiracy.
Merino Avila was arraigned May 27 on charges of fourth-degree conspiracy and fifth-degree conspiracy.
Prosecutors said all four defendants were released after arraignment because the charges are not bail eligible under current New York law.
Romero Martinez, Yanes Moran and Merino Avila are due back in court June 17. Alvarado Navarette is due back June 18.
Romero Martinez, Yanes Moran and Alvarado Navarette face up to seven years in prison if convicted of the top charge, prosecutors said. Merino Avila faces up to 1 1/3 to 4 years if convicted of the top charge.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Laube of the Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau. Suffolk County police Detective Andrew Shifrin of the Third Squad investigated the case.
The charges are accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Photo: Ministerie van Defensie, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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