Federal prosecutors announced on May 29 that two Bronx men were sentenced for the 2014 murder of a Harlem man. Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that Carlos Laureano, 35, was sentenced on May 23, to 30 years in prison for the murder of Luis Perez on August 12, 2014, and Nnandi Ben-Jochannan, 30, was sentenced on May 29 to 10 years for his role in the murder.

 

Prosecutors said both defendants were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, with Laureano having previously pled guilty in October 2023 to both discharging a firearm and possessing a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking offense. They said Ben-Jochannan, meanwhile, pled guilty in December 2023 to possessing a firearm which they said had been brandished in connection with a drug trafficking offense, and for aiding and abetting the same.

 

Reacting to the sentencing, Williams said, “Carlos Laureano and Nnandi Ben-Jochannan participated in the murder of Luis Perez nearly 10 years ago in connection with a drug debt. Thanks to the hard work of the DEA, the NYPD, and the career prosecutors of this office, the defendants have been sentenced for this heinous crime. We hope that these sentences bring some measure of comfort to the family of Luis Perez and make clear that this Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to be relentless in our pursuit of anyone who takes another person’s life.”

 

According to the prosecution and various court documents, on or about August 12, 2014, in the vicinity of 501 West 147th Street in Harlem, Laureano shot and killed Perez in connection with a conspiracy to distribute heroin and marijuana. Ben-Jochannan drove Laureano to the scene of the murder, knowing that Laureano was armed with a firearm and served as Laureano’s getaway driver after the murder. After successfully fleeing from the police, both defendants cleaned Ben-Jochannan’s car and disposed of evidence linking them to the murder.

 

In addition to their prison terms, Laureano and Ben-Jochannan were sentenced to three and five years of supervised release, respectively.

 

Williams praised what he described as the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD and the Drug Enforcement Administration. He also thanked the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for its assistance. The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rushmi Bhaskaran is in charge of the prosecution.