A reputed gang member from Long Island will spend decades behind bars for killing a former gang member outside of a Flushing deli, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Jose “Smoker” Alvarenga, 29, of Hempstead, was found guilty of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon earlier this month. He was sentenced to serve an indeterminate term of 25 years to life in prison for the murder charge and a determinate term of 15 years in prison each for the criminal possession of a weapon charges, to be followed by five years’ post release supervision.
“The defendant, after searching for the victim, purposely shot him and left him to die on a street corner on the side of a Queens deli,” said Acting Queens District Attorney John M. Ryan. “The defendant showed no mercy to the victim and has shown no remorse for his actions. The sentence imposed today by the court will ensure that he will spend the rest of his life locked away behind bars.”
According to trial testimony, Avlarenga, who is a purported MS-13 member, approached 39-year-old Fernando Gonzalez-Chavez outside of a deli located at 162nd Street and Station Road at around midnight on May 31, 2017. Alvarenga was seen on surveillance footage entering the deli and exiting before approaching Gonzalez-Chavez, who was crouching against a wall at the location.
Fourteen seconds later, Alvarenga stood in front of Gonzalez-Chavez, who had stopped being an active member of the MS-13 gang, and fired his pistol before throwing Gonzalez-Chavez to the ground.
Gonzalez-Chavez suffered a gunshot to the chest, with the bullet tearing through his lungs, aorta and esophagus. He died minutes later at the scene.
Alvarenga fled the scene following the shooting. He was arrest on July 27, 2017, after police received a tip from a person who knew about the shooting.
