BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Four gang members were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for a 2014 attack in which they fatally stabbed a man in the heart, according to prosecutors.
Carmello Bello, 28, and Miguel Bello, 34, of Bed-Stuy, Javier Ortiz, 35, and Martin Carillo, 36 of Sunset Park, were convicted last month of murdering Juan Carlos Luna-Juarez and wounding his brother in a brutal, botched robbery in Bed-Stuy, acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.
“These defendants — who robbed and stabbed two innocent brothers, killing one of them — are clearly a danger to society and should be incarcerated,” Gonzalez said. ‘The long prison sentences imposed today ensure just that and hopefully bring some small measure of closure to the victims’ family.”
Juan Carlos and his brother Angel, then 24, were headed home from work at Lincoln Park Tavern in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens at about 2 a.m. on Sept. 7, 2014, when the four thieves cornered them near the intersection of Myrtle and Tompkins avenues, demanding cash and their cellphones, according to prosecutors.
When the brothers didn't comply, the thieves attacked, stabbing Juan Carlos 10 times and knifing Angel in his leg and back, prosecutors said. Both men were rushed to Kings County Hospital, where Juan Carlos succumbed to his wounds.
All four attackers — whom prosecutors said were members of the “Ninos Malos” gang — were spotted near the scene of the crime shortly after the stabbing, and when officers rounded them up two of them were still wearing the blood-drenched clothes they had on when they attacked the brothers, according to Gonzalez. Officers found one knife in the pocket of an attacker as well as two other knives at the scene of the murder, and one of the murderers, Miguel Belo, admitted to police that he had stabbed someone, prosecutors said.
In the aftermath of the vicious attack, stunned co-workers and family members of the brothers managed to raise more than $3,400 to cover funeral costs and medical bills, including one co-worker who donated $1,500 to the family, the brothers' cousin Luis Rugerio said at the time.
