Manhattan Gang Member Sentenced To 25 Years For 2019 Murder Of Innocent Bystander

Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that LUIS FILPO was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for murdering 24-year-old Roberto Vasquez, an innocent bystander who was mistaken for a gang rival. FILPO previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer imposed today's sentence which was imposed to run consecutively to a state sentence the defendant is serving.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: "Luis Filpo walked up to a car and opened fire, killing Vasquez and wounding another occupant. What makes this brazen and senseless crime even more tragic is that Filpo wrongly believed Vasquez was a gang rival. Thanks to the hard work of the women and men of the Office and our law enforcement partners, Filpo will be held accountable for his crimes, and gang members are on notice that combatting gang-related crime is a priority of Federal law enforcement."

As detailed in public filings and public court proceedings:

From at least 2016 through March 2020, FILPO was a member of "the 200s," a street gang based in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan. In order to fund the gang, protect its territory, and promote its standing, members of the 200s engaged in, among other things, narcotics trafficking and other acts of violence, including murder. Members of the 200s sold narcotics in the gang's territory and engaged in shootings as part of their gang membership.

On January 31, 2019, FILPO saw Vasquez and believed he was a gang rival, even though Vasquez was not. FILPO and other 200s gang members followed a car in which Vasquez was a passenger. When Vasquez's vehicle parked, FILPO walked up to the car and opened fire, killing Vasquez and wounding another occupant in the car. Vasquez was 24 years old.

In imposing the sentence, Judge Engelmayer remarked that FILPO's crime was "as serious as it gets," adding that FILPO made himself "judge, jury and executioner."

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In addition to his prison term, FILPO, 25, of New York, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department.

The case is being handled by the Office's Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mathew S. Andrews, Frank J. Balsamello, Patrick R. Moroney, and Thomas J. Wright are in charge of the prosecution.