Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a leader of the MS-13 gang known as Hempstead Locos Salvatruchas (HLS) was sentenced to 17 years in prison for two attacks carried out in 2024 against 8 victims, using knives and machetes, at a local soccer field in Hempstead and at a laundromat in Uniondale.
Elias Serrano Bonilla, 22, pleaded guilty on July 2, 2026, before Judge Joy Watson, to the crimes of attempted murder in the 2nd. degree (class B violent felony), conspiracy 2nd. degree (class B felony) and assault in the 2nd degree. degree (class D violent felony).
The defendant was sentenced on August 18, 2026 to serve 17 years in prison and 5 years of post-release supervision.
“One of my top priorities is to eradicate MS-13 gang members and their violence from Nassau County, and this sentencing represents another important step in that direction,” stated Prosecutor Donnelly.
«Elias Bonilla was the instigator of several brazen public attacks by the Hempstead Locos Salvatruchas, which left nearly a dozen of our residents seriously injured. “He and MS-13 attempted to intimidate others through fear and force, but the message from my office is clear: gang violence in our communities is unacceptable, and we bring these criminals before judges and behind bars.”
Prosecutor Donnelly reported that, on October 20, 2024, at approximately 4:25 pm, Bonilla and several accomplices attacked 6 victims with knives and a machete while they were playing soccer in broad daylight at Kennedy Memorial Park in Hempstead.
Within the HLS gang, Bonilla is considered a “homeboy”, or leader. On the day of the alleged incident, surveillance video recovered at the scene showed Bonilla walking along the football field fence and approaching the victims. Bonilla and his accomplices then began to beat the victims with kicks and punches.
Accomplice Pedro Martínez Velásquez used a machete to hit a victim in the left forearm. Another accomplice, Kelvin Martinez, pulled a knife from his pants pocket and stabbed one victim in the chest.
Among the injuries suffered by the 6 victims — whose ages range from 20 to 51 years old — one was stabbed in the left shoulder, another was stabbed in the ribcage (requiring removal of the gallbladder and repair of the diaphragm and liver), and a third was hit with the machete on the left forearm, suffering a deep laceration.
After the attack, Bonilla, Velásquez and Martínez fled, got into another accomplice’s vehicle and drove away from the scene.
A court-authorized search warrant for the getaway vehicle turned up a knife with an eagle-shaped handle engraved with the letters “MS.”
On December 18, 2024, at approximately 8:48 pm, Bonilla, Velásquez and Martínez attacked 2 victims with white pipes and a machete while they were parked in front of the Super Laundromat in Uniondale.
Surveillance video recovered at the scene showed Bonilla punching a victim as he exited the front passenger seat of a vehicle.
In the video, Martínez is seen kicking another victim in the chest as he tried to flee, and holding him down while another member of the MS-13 gang repeatedly hit the victim with a machete.
The attackers identified themselves as members of the MS-13 gang and stated that they were going to kill the victims.
One of the victims was hit several times with a machete and suffered a deep laceration to his left forearm, as well as multiple cuts to his back. The other victim was hit with a white pipe and suffered a deep laceration to his forehead and multiple cuts to his body.
Bonilla was arrested on August 8, 2025 at his East Meadow home by agents from the Nassau County Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
On April 30, 2026, Martínez and Velásquez were each sentenced to 12 years in prison and 5 years of post-release supervision.
