Two Men Charged In Connection With 2025 Scheme To Rob And Murder Bronx Victim

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), James C. Barnacle, Jr., and Commissioner of the New York City Police Department ("NYPD"), Jessica S. Tisch, announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging LENYN TORIBIO and WELFY ESPINAL with interstate stalking resulting in death and conspiracy to commit interstate stalking resulting in death in connection with the April 13, 2025, murder of Jeremy Ortega in a residential neighborhood in the Bronx. ESPINAL was arrested this morning in New Jersey and was presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer E. Willis, who ordered him detained. TORIBIO remains at large. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon.

"As alleged, Lenyn Toribio and Welfy Espinal intentionally surveilled and tracked Jeremy Ortega before he was fatally shot in front of his own home-over little more than a bag of diamond jewelry," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. "New Yorkers deserve to live in neighborhoods free of gun violence. This Office will stop at nothing to hold accountable those who inflict violence on others."

"As alleged, the stalking and killing of an innocent victim by Lenyn Toribio and Welfy Espinal is horrifying," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. "Along with our local partners, the FBI will relentlessly pursue depraved individuals who threaten the safety of our citizens."

"These defendants orchestrated a scheme to place a GPS tracking device on their victim's car and followed him for days, ultimately leading to his death," said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. "Despite attempts to evade law enforcement by using a stolen license plate from a parked car, NYPD investigators worked tirelessly to identify, arrest, and bring those responsible to justice. I am thankful to our partners at the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York for their hard work in holding these criminals accountable."

According to the allegations in the Indictment and other public filings:

From at least March 2025 through April 13, 2025, TORIBIO and ESPINAL-and other co-conspirators-agreed to, and in fact did, engage in a scheme to surveil Ortega using a GPS tracking device with the intent to rob him, ultimately killing him.

On or about March 28, 2025, TORIBIO activated a GPS tracking device subscribed in his own name. A few days later, ESPINAL adhered that GPS tracker (the "Tracker") to Ortega's vehicle as it was parked outside of his residence in the Bronx. The next day, TORIBIO and ESPINAL went to a particular nightclub in upper Manhattan, where Ortega was also located, wearing various items of diamond jewelry.

Less than 10 days later, beginning on or about April 12, 2025, TORIBIO and ESPINAL surveilled Ortega as he traveled to a restaurant in midtown Manhattan, and then they traveled to his neighborhood to conduct surveillance of the area before the murder. TORIBIO and ESPINAL departed the area before returning to Ortega's neighborhood, where they positioned themselves in anticipation of his arrival. Just over an hour later, Ortega parked in front of his residence and exited his car. Moments after he arrived home, he was chased, shot repeatedly, and robbed of a bag containing his diamond jewelry. In the hours after the murder, the Tracker was recovered from the underside of Ortega's car.

At different points on the night of the murder, TORIBIO and ESPINAL used multiple vehicles, as well as a license plate stolen from an uninvolved vehicle parked near the George Washington Bridge, to attempt to avoid detection and apprehension by law enforcement.

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TORIBIO, 27, of New York, New York, and ESPINAL, 25, of the Bronx, New York, are each charged with one count of interstate stalking resulting in death and aiding and abetting the same, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, as well as one count of conspiracy to commit interstate stalking, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD, including law enforcement officers from the 45th Precinct and Bronx Homicide Squad, and the Special Agents and Task Force Officers from the FBI's Violent Threat Initiative.

The case is being handled by the Office's Violent Organizations and Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Wheelock is in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.

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   As the introductory phrase signifies, the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.