Brutal Kidnapping, Beating Of 15-Year-Old In Brentwood Earns MS

By Michael Mashburn From Daily Voice

An MS-13 gang member will spend over a half century behind bars for kidnapping and brutally assaulting a 15-year-old boy inside an abandoned building at Long Island’s Pilgrim Psychiatric Center.

Yeison “Yerba” Chavez-Campos, 23, of Huntington Station, was sentenced to 52 years in prison in Suffolk County Court on Wednesday, Aug. 20, after a jury convicted him of gang assault, kidnapping, and related crimes.

The attack happened on Jan. 6, 2024, when Chavez-Campos and other MS-13 members lured the victim to the Huntington Train Station, prosecutors said. The group robbed him and repeatedly beat him before forcing him into a vehicle and driving to the Pilgrim Psychiatric Center in Brentwood.

Inside an abandoned building at the facility, Chavez-Campos and his co-defendants assaulted the teen again, striking him with a brick, stabbing him in the neck, and leaving him unconscious.

Hours later, the group returned with shovels and garbage bags intending to bury the boy but could not find him.

The victim regained consciousness and managed to escape before collapsing on a nearby road. A passerby called 911, and he was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent surgery for a brain bleed and fractured skull. He survived his injuries.

“This brutal attack should not have happened,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “This defendant and his MS-13 co-conspirators are on notice that they cannot engage in wanton acts of violence in our communities.”

Six co-defendants previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

Federal immigration authorities lodged a detainer against Chavez-Campos, meaning once he finishes his prison term, he will be transferred into US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for possible deportation. It was not immediately clear whether he was in the United States legally at the time of the crimes.