BRONX, NY – Luis Cruz, 21, was sentenced today to 13 years in prison and five years post-release supervision for a 2021 gang-related shooting that killed 17-year-old Armanis Valdez.
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced that Cruz, a resident of East 183rd Street, pleaded guilty to first-degree Manslaughter on May 30. The sentence was handed down by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio.
According to the investigation, on May 15, 2021, at approximately 9 p.m., Cruz and other members of the ATR Trinitarios gang engaged in a shootout with the rival Shooting Boys gang.
The incident occurred in a McDonald’s parking lot at Clay Avenue and Belmont Street in Claremont, where a crowd had gathered for a rap music video filming. Cruz fired a single shot from a .380-caliber pistol, striking Valdez in the chest and causing his death.
District Attorney Clark expressed ongoing commitment to reducing gang violence and making streets safer. The case was a part of a larger uptick in shootings in 2021, marking the most in 25 years.
