Crime and Courts

Covering crime and court proceedings in the tri-state

LI Officials Try to Tie Bail Reform to MS-13 Case, Before Conceding No Link

A homeless man found beaten to death behind a house had been attacked before and was planning to testify against members of the MS-13 gang at a trial

By Greg Cergol • Published February 6, 2020 • Updated on February 7, 2020 at 3:47 pm

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The mystery of a homeless man found beaten to death behind a Long Island home over the weekend took an even darker turn Wednesday.

Nassau County Police say the 36-year-old victim had been attacked before in a brutal gang assault, and was planning on testifying against the members in a trial.

Wilmer Maldonado Rodriguez was previously attacked in October 2018, and nine members of the MS-13 gang were arrested as a result.

“This courageous man was prepared to testify against his alleged assailants at an upcoming trial but he was brutally beaten to death before he could,” said Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas.

No arrests have yet been made in the killing.

County officials initially tried to link Rodriguez's death to the state's recent bail reform laws, which they suggested led to his identity being revealed.

But within a day they conceded that any such link was factually incorrect, and that the bail reform laws had nothing to do with the attack on Rodriguez.