MS-13 Horror: Kingpin Saenz Admits Guilt in Brentwood Teen Murders

Jairo Saenz, a prominent leader within MS-13’s Sailors clique, received a 60-year prison sentence on Tuesday in Central Islip, having admitted his involvement in seven murders. His case brought national attention to the brutal gang violence plaguing Long Island, particularly due to the shocking slayings of two Brentwood High School students, Kayla Cuevas, 16, and Nisa Mickens, 15, on September 13, 2016. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Scotti described Saenz, the No. 2 leader in his clique behind his brother Alexi Saenz, as central to a "historic wave of violence and murder" where most victims were savagely beaten and hacked to death with baseball bats and machetes. Scotti emphasized the gang's intent was not just to kill, but to inflict profound suffering.

Saenz, also known as "Funny," pleaded guilty in January 2025 to racketeering for his role in the murders of Cuevas, Mickens, and five other individuals. He also admitted participation in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana, and the use and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. The prosecutor highlighted that the Central Islip- and Brentwood-based Sailors were deemed the most violent clique of the most violent gang in the nation between January 2016 and January 2017, the period when the murders linked to Saenz occurred. In addition to the murders, Saenz was implicated in three attempted murders and the firebombing of rival gang members' cars. His brother, Alexi Saenz, was sentenced in July 2025 to 68 years for his responsibility in eight murders.

During the almost 90-minute sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Gary R. Brown characterized Saenz's actions as "heinous, brutal and reprehensible acts," likening them to "the stuff of nightmares." Saenz largely kept his head down as relatives of the victims delivered emotional impact statements. Freddy Cuevas, Kayla's father, expressed his wish for Saenz to never find peace in prison, asserting, "I hope all your days, months and years you are incarcerated, that you don’t live in peace." George Johnson, father of Michael Johnson, the first victim of the Sailors' reign of terror who was mistakenly believed to be a rival gang member, confronted Saenz, demanding answers and wishing suffering upon him.

Saenz's defense attorneys, Monica Foster and Jackie Walsh, argued for leniency, requesting a 40-year sentence. Foster read a statement from Saenz expressing remorse, saying, "God knows I am sorry. I want you to know that, too." Walsh detailed Saenz's traumatic childhood, marked by abandonment, abject poverty, physical and mental abuse in rural El Salvador. She cited exposure to toxins from a nearby mining operation that poisoned his water supply, potentially impacting his cognitive abilities. Walsh explained that Saenz joined MS-13 as a teenager, arguing his brain was not adequately developed to fully grasp the consequences, presenting these factors as explanations, not excuses, for his behavior.

However, the victims' families remained unsympathetic. Elizabeth Alvarado, Nisa Mickens’ mother, stated she wished for a harsher sentence but found solace in the likelihood that Saenz would die in prison. She dismissed Saenz's downcast gaze as cowardice and imagined her daughter, who would have been 26, living a full life, especially doting on her niece and nephews. Evelyn Rodriguez, Kayla Cuevas' mother, became a vocal anti-gang activist after her daughter's death, even meeting with President Donald Trump. Tragically, Rodriguez herself was killed in September 2018, exactly two years after her daughter's remains were discovered, during a confrontation with a motorist.