Kayla Alvarenga was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the killing of Linver Ortiz Ponce, 29, in a church parking lot. Acting Supreme Court Justice Anthony Senft told the 23-year-old she showed “zero respect for human life” and “absolutely no remorse” at sentencing.
Alvarenga declined to address the judge before Senft imposed the maximum sentence. The punishment came a month after a jury convicted her of first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery in the Sept. 17, 2022, death, a case built over three weeks of testimony from 35 witnesses, including four co-defendants who struck cooperating agreements.
During the hearing, the victim’s brother, Jaime Ortiz, described Ortiz Ponce as a “kind, good-hearted” man whose “life was full of promise.” Assistant District Attorney Sheetal Shetty told the court that he worked six days a week for a tent company and was heading home after meeting a woman he was interested in. She said he had a couple drinks, pulled over and decided it was best not to keep driving.
The sentence lands as Suffolk prosecutors describe Alvarenga as the leader of a Bay Shore street gang that offered young men from broken homes a place to smoke weed, chase girls and handle weapons without adult supervision. Shetty called Alvarenga a “master manipulator” who demanded total loyalty from gang members through threats and beatings. Senft also held her in contempt after she threatened one of the cooperating witnesses, and prosecutors said she has been accused of threatening two correction officers while incarcerated.
The evidence at trial tied Alvarenga to a violent crew that prosecutors said operated under the name Family Over Everything, Everybody Killed. Christopher Perdomo acknowledged firing four shots into Ortiz Ponce after the group beat him and stole his car with Alvarenga present. Perdomo is expected to receive 20 years to life in prison under a plea agreement next month.
Alvarenga’s defense attorney said he planned to file an appeal. For Suffolk prosecutors, the sentence marks the second full life term in two months after no defendant had received New York’s most severe penalty in nearly a decade. For Ortiz Ponce’s family, it closes the courtroom chapter but not the loss; Jaime Ortiz told the court, “We hope that one day they understand the gravity of what they did.”
