Three men -- described by police as MS-13 gang members -- have been charged with first-degree gang assault in connection with the attack on Marin Morales, which took place around at Antojitos Bar on Main Street, police said.Marin Morales was stabbed around 3:20 a.m. Sunday after he went outside the bar to help a friend who was getting beat up by a group, Det. Sgt. Gregory Quinn of the Homicide Squad said at a news conference.Part of the group then turned on Marin Morales, ripping off his shirt and chasing him into the bar's kitchen, Quinn said."Our victim exited the kitchen area a short time after and collapsed," he said. Marin Morales sustained stab wounds to the torso and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The assailants fled the bar and ran north on Main Street to a parking lot at Fulton Avenue, where they victimized a third man, smashing a broken bottle into his temple, police said. The victim, in his early 20s, is hospitalized at Nassau University Medical Center. His injuries are not considered life-threatening, police said.
The identity of the first assault victim is as yet unknown to police, Quinn said.David Sosa, 25, of 218 Lincoln Ave., Roosevelt, and Josue Gallegos, 21, of Hempstead, were each charged with one count of gang assault. Juan Cardona, 19, of 200 Hempstead Ave., West Hempstead, faces two counts of gang assault, the second in connection with the attack on the third victim, police said. They are scheduled to be arraigned Monday at First District Court in Hempstead.
About 30 to 40 people were in Antojitos bar at the time of the crime, Quinn said.
"We believe that this bar is a hangout for members of MS-13," he said, asking anyone with information about the case to call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS.Marin Morales was a former Hempstead High School student, and was believed to have been working for a Hempstead contractor at the time of his death, police said.