The robbers used a GPS tracker to stalk the person in front of the robbery, shot him dead in front of his mother: police
Two former Bronx friends used a GPS tracker to track her down after she posted a photo of her glittering diamond jewelry – then held up the robber and shot him dead in front of his mother, authorities said.
Welfy Espinal, 25, and Lenyn Toribio, 27, are accused of killing Jeremy Ortega, 24, outside his family’s Bronx apartment on April 13, 2025.
Ortega’s mother, Yokasta, told the New York Daily News that she begged the suspects not to kill him.
Why would you do that? Why would you kill him like that? What was their envy and hatred? You know my son was a really good person – because you grew up with him!” Yokasta said.
Ortega and Espinal were old friends who “did everything” together in their youth, the family said. Ortega reunited with Toribio a few years before the attack, his younger sister Brianna told the outlet.
Yokasta said she left her door open for Ortega, who had forgotten his keys. She waited for him until he returned and then peeked outside while trying to avoid the attackers, he added.
But he watched in horror as Espinal allegedly shot Ortega in the back. He rushed to his side and tried to wake him up, but he said that he was not showing any signs of life.
“They ruined my life, they killed him in front of me. It’s terrible,” said Yokasta.
Ortega’s younger brother, Jayden, told the media that their mother faced him in “great distress and grief” while trying to get to know Ortega on the side of the road.
“He was telling me what was going on but it was overwhelming, for a second I thought, ‘Is this true?'” Jayden recounted.
The family believes the killers were jealous of Ortega, who worked as a manager at a recycling company.
Toribio and Espinal allegedly stalked Ortega using a GPS tracking device they planted in his car to steal his diamond jewelry, according to a news release from the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
The device was unwittingly placed in Ortega’s car while it was parked outside his family’s home in Throggs Neck in early April, authorities said.
The next day, the alleged thieves went to a night club in northern Manhattan – where Ortega was partying decorated with various pieces of diamonds.
Ortega shared photos of her 24th birthday on April 5, 2025, in which she wore two sparkling bracelets, a silver watch, a large diamond chain, and large earrings. He also had a lunch box with “Never Satisfied” and “Diamonds” written on it.
On April 12, 2025, Toribio and Espinal allegedly followed Ortega from a restaurant in Midtown before doubling back to his neighborhood in Throggs Neck, where they ambushed him.
When Ortega returned before 5 a.m., the two allegedly chased him down the street, shot him repeatedly and grabbed a luxury bag full of his diamond jewelry, the release said.
Brianna told the Daily News that the Louis Vuitton messenger bag contained a diamond watch and a Cartier bracelet.
Both suspects fled the scene, leaving Ortega dead on the side of the road next to his crying mother, the family said. He was pronounced dead at Jacobi Medical Center an hour later.
Toribio and Espinal allegedly fled the city and used a stolen license plate on a car parked near the George Washington Bridge in an attempt to avoid law enforcement detection, according to authorities.
Espinal was arrested in New Jersey on Friday morning. Toribio is still in full swing.
They face similar charges of interstate loitering resulting in death and conspiracy to commit stalking resulting in death.
