Two alleged MS-13 gang members were each sentenced to 12 years in prison for a pair of violent attacks in Hempstead and Uniondale that left eight people injured, Nassau County prosecutors said.
Pedro Martinez Velasquez, 19, and Kelvin Martinez, 19, both members of the Hempstead Locos Salvatruchas clique, pleaded guilty on Feb. 24, 2026, to conspiracy, attempted murder, and assault charges. They were sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.
According to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, the defendants took part in two separate attacks in 2024 involving knives, a machete, and blunt objects.
The first incident occurred on Oct. 20, 2024, at approximately 4:25 p.m. at Kennedy Memorial Park in Hempstead. Prosecutors said Velasquez, Martinez, and several co-conspirators targeted a group of men playing soccer in broad daylight.
Surveillance video captured the group jumping a fence to access the field before launching the attack. Authorities said the defendants kicked and punched the victims, with Martinez stabbing one victim in the chest and Velasquez striking another with a machete.
Six victims, ranging in age from 20 to 51, were injured. One suffered a stab wound to the shoulder, another was stabbed in the rib cage and required surgery involving his gallbladder, diaphragm, and liver, and another sustained a deep machete wound to the forearm.
The attackers fled in a vehicle driven by another co-conspirator. A later search of that vehicle recovered a knife with an eagle-shaped handle engraved with “MS,” prosecutors said.
The second attack happened on Dec. 18, 2024, at approximately 8:48 p.m. outside a laundromat in Uniondale. Prosecutors said the same group assaulted two victims in a parking lot using white pipes and a machete.
Video evidence showed Martinez kicking one victim in the chest as he attempted to flee and holding him down while another gang member repeatedly struck him with a machete. During the attack, the assailants identified themselves as MS-13 members and threatened to kill the victims, according to prosecutors.
One victim suffered multiple machete wounds, including a deep cut to the forearm and injuries to his back. The second victim was struck with a pipe, causing a deep laceration to the forehead and multiple cuts.
Police located both defendants within minutes of the laundromat attack and arrested them a few blocks from the scene.
District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said the case is part of ongoing efforts to dismantle MS-13 activity in Nassau County, citing years of enforcement targeting the gang’s leadership and members.
Both defendants were prosecuted by the district attorney’s Firearms Suppression and Intelligence Unit.
Photo: Jim.henderson, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
