MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a member of MS-13’s Hollywood Clique was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison today for the July 2017 murder of 15-year-old Angel Soler.
Dennis Lopez, a/k/a Elmer Guillen and Maliante, 20, pleaded guilty on June 3 before Judge Meryl Berkowitz to Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I violent felony), Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C felony) and Conspiracy in the Second Degree (a B felony).
The NCDA had recommended a sentence of 30 years to life in prison.
“Dennis Lopez and his co-defendants helped lure innocent 15-year old Angel Soler into the woods and relentlessly hacked him to death,” DA Singas said. “This young man’s family had to endure three months of not knowing where Angel was until his body was found in a remote area and covered in concrete. Due to extraordinary detective work, we were able to locate Angel’s body and arrest those responsible for his murder. With today's sentence, we’ve held Dennis Lopez accountable for his heinous actions and we are ready to try his co-defendants for this senseless murder.”
DA Singas said that Dennis Lopez, a/k/a Maliante, murdered 15-year-old Angel Soler on July 21, 2017, in Nassau County. Soler’s body was mutilated, bearing injuries consistent with the use of a machete, and he suffered blunt force trauma to the head. The victim was left buried until his remains were discovered under cement on October 19, 2017, in a remote wooded area in Roosevelt, just south of the Southern State Parkway.
The alleged head of the Long Island chapter of the Hollywood clique, David Sosa Guevara, a/k/a Risky, and Victor Lopez, were previously indicted for the murder of Angel Soler. A fourth defendant, Josue Antonio Figueroa Velasquez, was arrested by members of the Nassau County Police Department in May of 2018 and a fifth defendant, Kevin Morales Lopez was arrested in August of 2018, both on murder charges related to Soler’s death. Their cases are pending.
The NCDA thanks the Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Nassau County Police Department and New York State Police for their assistance on this case.
The case is being prosecuted by members of the Special Operations, Narcotics and Gang Bureau and the Major Offense Bureau. Lopez is represented by Megan Rha, Esq.
###