An Ozone Park MS-13 gang member is facing life in prison after admitting he killed a 30-year-old father in his neighborhood following a dispute over stolen marijuana nearly a decade and a half ago.
Roger “Cyclone” Morales, 31, pleaded guilty on Thursday, Feb. 12 in Brooklyn federal court to the June 5, 2011, murder in-aid-of racketeering of Norman Mizzell in his home on 128th Street in Ozone Park.
“With today’s guilty plea, the defendant has finally been held accountable for his cold-blooded murder of Norman Mizzell almost fifteen years ago,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella said.
According to court filings and admissions made in court, Morales first met Mizzell when he and other MS-13 members purchased marijuana from Mizzell at his home in Ozone Park. Morales and other MS-13 members returned to Mizzell’s home several days later to purchase more marijuana. When they arrived, they found that Mizzell was away, so they broke into Mizzell’s home and robbed him. After Mizzell confronted Morales and another MS-13 member over the robbery, the defendant and other members of MS-13 decided to kill Mizzell for disrespecting them, Morales and his accomplices obtained a firearm from another MS-13 clique and enlisted the help of another MS-13 member who needed to commit a murder to regain his standing in the gang.
On the night of June 5, 2011, Morales and his co-conspirators traveled to Mizzell’s home, where they shot him several times through a window into his bedroom, according to court filings. The victim’s body was found the next day lying face-down in his bedroom with gunshot wounds to his chest and stomach.
Morales, also known as “Crazy” and “Ciclon” on the street, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan. When sentenced, Morales faces a maximum term of life imprisonment.
“This conviction reflects my Office’s ongoing commitment to prosecuting members of MS-13 for the violence they have long caused in our community,” Nocella said.
