4 in custody in 'mistaken identity' machete murder of 15-year-old Bronx boy

NEW YORK -- (WPIX) -- One teen was arrested and four other suspects were in custody Sunday in the mistaken-identity machete murder of a 15-year-old boy outside a Bronx bodega, a law enforcement source said.

Kevin J. Alvarez, 19, was arrested and charged with two counts of murder, manslaughter, gang assault and assault, police said.

Paterson police received a tip at about 1:45 p.m. They sent a large contingent of cops and found four people connected to the attack of Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz who were holed up at a house on East 24th Street in Paterson, a source tells PIX11.

When authorities went to the house, which is connected to the Trinitarios gang, one suspect managed to escape but was apprehended minutes later, sources say. Another suspect was taken into custody in the Dominican Republic, a source said.

The leader of the Trinitarios gang apologized on Facebook, saying the vicious murder resulted from a case of mistaken identity.

Guzman-Feliz was dragged out of a bodega at East 183rd Street and Bathgate Avenue and hacked to death with a machete on Wednesday following a dispute with a group of males, officials said.

A source told PIX11 one gang member was angry because a relative was featured in a sex video and thought Guzman-Feliz was in the video.

Guzman-Feliz's death sent shockwaves through the community, and on social media, as the hashtag #JusticeforJunior began trending. Rapper Cardi B, a Bronx native, was among those paying tribute, posting on Instagram about getting justice for the teen.

The identities of the remaining four suspects taken into custody were not immediately released.