In the early morning hours of November 4, 2021, the quiet streets of Machias, Maine, were disturbed by the sound of multiple gunshots. Residents on High Street and Court Street reported hearing as many as seven or eight shots fired, followed by the sight of a silver sedan and a dark SUV speeding away from the area. It wasn't until just before 8 a.m.
that the tragic outcome of this violence was discovered: the body of 17-year-old Brandin Guerrero, a Hispanic male from Massapequa, New York, was found on the front lawn of a High Street home.
An investigation into Guerrero's death revealed a planned and brutal ambush rooted in a rivalry between drug gangs. Guerrero was reportedly in Machias to sell heroin and crack cocaine and was associated with the Bloods street gang. The plan to rob and kill him was allegedly devised by several individuals. According to police affidavits, a local man, 23-year-old Nathaniel Kerruish of East Machias, was tasked with luring Guerrero to a cemetery on High Street under the pretense of a drug deal.
Shortly after midnight, as Kerruish and Guerrero walked up High Street, two vehicles carrying four other men passed them and then stopped. Juan Ortiz, 27, of Concord, New Hampshire, allegedly exited one of the vehicles and opened fire as Guerrero and Kerruish tried to flee. Guerrero was struck by the gunfire, and as he limped away, he was shot again in the back. The assailants then took his backpack, which they believed contained drugs, and fled the scene.
In the weeks and months that followed, law enforcement made several arrests in connection with the murder. Along with Kerruish, four other men were charged: Jorge Pagan-Sanchez, 41, of Taunton, Massachusetts; Nathanael Genao, 23, of New Bedford, Massachusetts; Juan Ortiz; and Emanuel Ramos, 30, of Roxbury, Massachusetts. All five were charged with felony murder. Genao, Kerruish, and Pagan-Sanchez eventually pleaded guilty to charges of murder and robbery. Genao was sentenced to 22 years in prison with all but 13 years suspended, Kerruish to 15 years with all but 4 1/2 years suspended, and Pagan-Sanchez to 15 years with all but 5 1/2 years suspended. Ortiz and Ramos were the only two to plead not guilty, but they were ultimately sentenced to 40 years and 38 years in prison, respectively.
