Yanki Misael Cruz-Mateo, Murder and Racketeering, New York 2018
Yanki Misael Cruz-Mateo, a member of the 18th Street gang, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and two murders in New York. The guilty plea proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge Sanket J. Bulsara in federal court in Brooklyn.
Cruz-Mateo faces up to life in prison when sentenced. He committed the following crimes in order to maintain and increase his membership and status in the gang:
In the late evening of October 24, 2017, Cruz-Mateo lured and travelled with Jonathan Figueroa from Queens to Kingston, New York, planning to murder him because 18th Street members suspected he was an informant for law enforcement.
Upon their arrival in Kingston, they were met by other 18th Street members and associates who, into the early morning hours of October 25, 2017, brought Figueroa to Turkey Point State Forest, stabbed him to death, and buried him in a makeshift grave.
Cruz-Mateo ordered the murder to be video-recorded—capturing multiple 18th Street members and associates repeatedly stabbing Figueroa, slashing his throat, amputating his ear, and dragging his body.
The victim sustained more than 100 stab wounds including at least one stab wound to the head that appears to have fractured his skull and a slash to his throat that ruptured his trachea.
In another incident, on February 2, 2018, Cruz-Mateo shot and killed Oscar Antonio Blanco Hernandez in Queens because 18th Street gang members suspected him of being a member of 18th Street’s principal rival, La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13 gang.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the guilty plea and expressed his appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office, the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Police, the Kingston Police Department, and the New York City Police Department for their assistance during the investigation.
Co-defendant Israel Mediola Flores previously pleaded guilty to Figueroa’s murder and was sentenced in June 2023 to 425 months in prison.
The defendant, Yanki Misael Cruz-Mateo, is a member of the Queens-based Shatto Park Locos Sureños sect of 18th Street. He was arrested by the FBI following a statewide manhunt.
Defendant: Yanki Misael Cruz-Mateo
Criminal Charges: Racketeering conspiracy and two murders
City and State: Brooklyn, New York
Date: October 25, 2017 and February 2, 2018
Sentence: Up to life in prison
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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