An alleged gang member from Huntington Station was extradited to Suffolk County from North Carolina to face charges of kidnapping and assault.
Josue Zepeda Padilla, 28, was extradited and arraigned on an indictment charging for Robbery in the First Degree, Gang Assault in the First Degree, and other related charges, for his alleged role in last year’s violent attack on a 15-year-old at the Pilgrim State Mental Facility in Brentwood that left the child unconscious.
Zepeda Padilla is one of the seven alleged members and associates of the Huntington Criminal Locates Salvatrucha or “HCLS” clique of the MS-13 street gang charged in the beating. He was arrested in Winston-Salem, North Carolina by the United States Marshals and the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Forces.
According to the investigation, on the morning of January 6, 2024, the 15-year-old victim was lured to the Huntington Train Station by a group of MS-13 members and associates. While at the train station, Zepeda Padilla and four other suspected MS-13 members/associates allegedly surrounded the victim and took the victim’s money. Zepeda Padilla and the others then allegedly punched the victim repeatedly, knocked the victim to the ground, and kicked the victim multiple times.
After the assault, Zepeda Padilla and his associates allegedly forced the victim into a vehicle and drove the victim to the Pilgrim Psychiatric Center in Brentwood. Once there, the assailants allegedly placed a hood over the victim’s head and brought him into an abandoned building. Inside the building, Zepeda Padilla and the other MS-13 members/associates allegedly beat the victim repeatedly, struck him with a rock, and stabbed him in the neck. Zepeda Padilla and the other assailants allegedly then fled the abandoned building and left the victim unconscious on the ground.
Miraculously, the victim lived through the assault. He regained consciousness, found a way out of the building and walked to a nearby road where he collapsed. A short time later, he was found by a Good Samaritan who called 911. The victim was brought to a local hospital, and required surgery, including a craniotomy, to treat a brain bleed and fractured skull. He ultimately survived his injuries.
Following the alleged assault, Zepeda Padilla allegedly fled Suffolk County and was on the run for over a year.
On March 5, 2025, after extensive electronic tracking and surveillance, members of the Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and United States Marshal Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force and Carolina Task Force located and arrested Zepeda Padilla at a residence in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
On April 8, 2025, Zepeda Padilla was extradited back to Suffolk County. The next day, he was arraigned before Supreme Court Justice Anthony S. Senft, Jr. on the following charges contained in the indictment:
- one count of Robbery in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony
- one count of Gang Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony
- one count of Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony
- one count of Kidnapping in the Second Degree, a Class B violent felony
- one count of Attempted Assault in the First Degree, a Class C violent felony
- one count of Gang Assault in the Second Degree, a Class C violent felony
- three counts of Robbery in the Second Degree, a Class C violent felony
- two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, a class D violent felony
Senft ordered Zepeda Padilla held on $1,000,000 cash, $2,000,000 bond or $10,000,000 partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Zepeda Padilla is due back in court on April 21, 2025, and faces 25 years in prison if convicted on the top count.
“I want to thank our federal partners for their assistance in bringing this alleged MS-13 gang member back to Suffolk County so that he can face accountability for his actions,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “Let it be known that we will work with every law enforcement agency in this country to track down perpetrators of gang violence.”