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Jackson Heights gang member sentenced to 13 1/2 years in prison for killing Elmhurst man

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Photo via Pixabay

A 33-year-old man who is a member of the Sureño 13 gang was sentenced to more than a decade in prison for fatally shooting an Elmhurst man in 2015.

According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, Raul Zamora of Jackson Heights pleaded guilty last month to shooting 38-year-old Jorge Manzanarez on May 5, 2015.

Zamora, along with 35-year-old Isaac Martinez and another suspect, got into a verbal dispute with Manzanarez at the intersection of Whitney and Roosevelt Avenues. The fight escalated and Zamora pulled out a gun and shot Manzanarez once in the chest.

The victim was taken to a local hospital where he died later that day.

Martinez pleaded guilty last year to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison and five years of post release supervision.

“In pleading guilty, the defendant admitted that he intentionally took the life of another person and used a gun to settle a petty dispute,” Brown said. “His actions revealed a total disregard for human life and he must be punished for this senseless killing. The lengthy term of incarceration imposed by the Court today is more than warranted.”

Zamora was sentenced to 13 1/2 years in prison and five years of post release supervision.