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Murder of Ortiz Ponce

According to the Suffolk County DA, 29-year-old Ortiz Ponce parked his red Chevrolet Camaro in front of Kayla Alvarenga’s Bay Shore, New York home on September 17th, 2022, just before midnight. She confronted him and ordered him to move his vehicle, but he refused. That decision cost him his life.

Alvarenga called Christopher Perdomo and three teens so they could come over and make Ponce move. The group drove to Alvarenga’s home in a stolen BMW they had carjacked from a woman earlier that day. They dragged a sleeping Ponce from the car. They beat him and took his vehicle.

Ponce fled from the violence and tried to hide behind some cars at a gas station, but Alvarenga and her friends were undeterred. Two teens joined Alvarenga and got into Ponce’s vehicle while Pedermo and three minors he came with got back into the stolen BMW. The two cars drove around looking for him.

Alvarenga spotted him at a gas station and alerted Pedermo and the others in the BMW. Ponce was forced at gunpoint to get into the BMW and he was pistol-whipped as the BMW followed behind Alvarenga as she drove the Chevrolet to a church parking lot. Alvarenga thought the parking lot didn’t have cameras.

There, the seven culprits beat Ponce, then Alvarenga ordered Perdomo to kill him. Perdomo followed her orders and started shooting. They abandoned the vehicles in two seperate locations before taking a rideshare back to Alvarenga’s home. Once there, they split up the money stolen from the victim’s wallet.

They got away with it for a while, but according to the NYDailyNews, the case started to make progress in February 2024, when one of the teens was arrested

The Suffolk County DA announced the indictments of the seven culprits in October 2024.

Previous 2021 Case

They didn’t have to look far to find Alvarenga. The NYDailyNews reported that she was arrested four months after Ponce’s murder, with authorities saying she was involved in a fatal robbery on October 27, 2021.

Alvarenga and three others plotted to rob a marijuana dealer. When they went to the dealer’s home, Alvarenga and one of her accomplices were armed. They ordered the dealer to open a garage door, but he didn’t, so one of them fired a shot through the door. It’s unclear who fired the shot, but it hit and killed the dealer’s friend, 28-year-old Louis Lombardo.

According to Patch, Alvarenga was indicted for second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, fourth-degree conspiracy, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

She went to trial for that case in 2024, and in April, she was convicted of robbery and sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Ponce Murder Case

Perdomo pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree robbery, and criminal possession of a weapon. In May 2026, he was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

According to the Suffolk County DA, the five juveniles resolved their cases by pleading guilty, but it is unclear what charges they pleaded guilty or what their punishment was.

Alvarenga went to trial and was convicted of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree robbery, and fourth-degree conspiracy.

The 23-year-old was sentenced to life without parole.