6 men indicted in 2025 killing of social media influencer Ariela Mejia-Polanco on Cross County Parkway
Half a dozen men now face federal charges in connection with the shooting death of a social media influencer on the Cross County Parkway in Westchester last summer.
The task force working the killing of Ariela Mejia-Polanco cast a wide net, and now the alleged gang members are charged in a total of five homicides in New York and New Jersey.
The death of Ariela Mejia-Polanco
It was on a Sunday morning last August when nightlife influencer Mejia-Polanco was shot dead in her Mercedes G-Class SUV on the Cross County, just yards from her Mount Vernon home.
Investigators now believe six members of a violent street gang targeted her for a carjacking, adding they may have seen her flashy posts on Instagram.
"She was an innocent young woman unknown to any of these gang members, who had the misfortune of crossing their path by pure happenstance," Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace said.
"Within hours, the investigation was leading into New York City"
Westchester County Public Safety Commissioner Terrance Raynor said intel streaming into the county's real-time crime center was shared with the FBI Safe Streets Task Force.
"Within hours, the investigation was leading into New York City," Raynor said.
The probe culminated in the indictment of 11 alleged members of the Bad Boys Seven subset of the Trinitarios street gang.
"The charged gang members terrorized people across New York and New Jersey," U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said.
7 gang members charged in Newark killing
Clayton said the indictment names seven alleged gang members in the August 2025 killing of Alvis Liriano in Newark.
Cheldrid Sosa, a drill rapper known as "Young Avii," was among those charged in the July killing of Frankelis Tavarez in the Bronx.
Another alleged gang member is accused of killing Gabriel Alvarez and Adam Waldropt, who were each shot dead during an attempted robbery near Ferry Point Park in the Bronx, prosecutors said.
"This senseless violence for personal gain ended two lives and left two families devastated," Bronx DA Darcel Clark said.
Investigators said they collected evidence in the five homicides, including tracking devices and fake license plates. Some of the 11 alleged Trinitarios are also accused of non-fatal shootings and of robbing a group in Fort Lee of more than $350,000 worth of jewelry.
