UNEXPECTEDLY: Man set to testify against MS-13 found murdered after New York releases witness list.'
Beaten to death by MS-13
Rodriguez was one of three victims of a gang assault over a year ago. Rodriguez was protecting someone who was being bullied in 2018 when he was beaten and stabbed by MS-13 gang members known to police as the “Gang of Nine.”
Rodriguez was a witness set to testify in a 2018 MS-13 assault case.
The DA’s office says as a result of the investigation into that case, nine MS-13 members were arrested for assault and witness intimidation. They are still behind bars.
The DA’s office had a hearing regarding the case going to trial in December of last year. All information that had a protective hold on it would have to be turned over to the defense counsel. This included witness names and contact information.
“We don’t know if the defense counsel turned that information over to the defendants, but we do know that right after that time period, we started this pattern of intimidation,” says Ryder.
On Jan. 30, one of the other witnesses was shot at. Two days later, he says Rodriguez was beaten but escaped. He was found dead the following day.
The new bail reform law killed the 36-year-old. Under the law, prosecutors must turn over all evidence against a defendant within 15 days of arraignment – including the identities of all witnesses and victims.
“We had a protective order that the DA put in place for over a year to protect that information, to protect our victims. That’s what we do,” says Ryder. “That protective order, because of the new changes in law, was lifted.”
As soon as Maldonado Rodriguez’s named was turned over to the defense team, he was found dead.
The commissioner says since the new law took effect major crime has increased by 5%. He is pleading with lawmakers to make changes to the law before someone else dies.
