An MS-13 gangbanger has been busted on federal charges in a Queens pot dealer’s murder from more than a decade ago, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Roger Morales, 31, was arrested Thursday morning after his indictment in the murder-in-aid-of-racketeering of Norman Mizzell, who was shot dead in his Ozone Park bedroom on June 5, 2011.
Morales, who goes by the nicknames “Crazy” and “Cyclone,” first met the 30-year-old victim when he and other MS-13 members bought pot from the victim at his 128th St. home, the feds allege.
They came back to buy more pot several days later, and when they realized he wasn’t home, they broke in and ransacked the place, the feds allege.
Mizzell confronted the gangbangers about the burglary, which they saw as a slight, so they decided to kill him, the feds allege.
They shot him through his bedroom window during a “feigned late-night marijuana purchase,” the feds allege in a sentencing memo.
“As alleged, the defendant and his co-conspirators killed the victim for the twisted purpose of maintaining and increasing their positions in the MS-13 gang,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said. “This prosecution reflects the resolve by my Office and our law enforcement partners to bring gang members to justice for their violent crimes and that we will not be deterred by the passage of time.”
Morales was a juvenile at the time of the murder, meaning his case is not death penalty-eligible, and though he faces the possibility of life behind bars, he won’t face a mandatory life sentence if convicted.
On Thursday, Morales’ lawyer Michael Marinaccio said his client “denies involvement” and has been working for the past several years as a truck driver for a local cement company.
“We anxiously await the receipt of discovery materials. My client’s an American citizen. He’s working hard. He helps support his siblings. This comes as a big surprise to him,” Marinaccio said.
“These allegations go back to 2011,” he said, adding the court documents are thin on evidence.
Morales is part of the Queens-based Centrales Locos Salvatruchas clique of MS-13, the feds allege. Last year, a federal jury convicted the clique’s leader, Melvi Amador-Rios, of racketeering murder after a trial featuring testimony from his own brother.
Morales was arraigned in Brooklyn Federal Court Thursday and ordered held without bail.