Ariela Mejia‑Polanco, once a rising social‑media personality known for her fashion tips and a cameo in a popular rap music video, was found dead in a violent incident that has drawn federal attention.
The 33‑year‑old influencer was returning to her home in Mount Vernon, Westchester County, after working at a Manhattan nightclub on August 17, 2025. While driving her Mercedes‑Benz G63 AMG SUV, six gang members attempted a carjacking that turned deadly, shooting Mejia‑Polanco multiple times on the Cross County Parkway.
Federal prosecutors charged 11 individuals with five murders, including Mejia‑Polanco’s death, and a range of other offenses. The indictment alleges that the defendants belong to the BB7 offshoot of the Trinitarios gang, which operates from a Bronx headquarters.
Beyond murder, the indictment lists charges of assault, robbery, carjacking, narcotics trafficking, and wire fraud committed between September 2023 and September 2025. One defendant, Darwin “Mole” Martinez, is also accused of two July 2025 killings at a Bronx car meet.
Additional alleged crimes include murders in the Bronx, Newark, and Paterson, New Jersey, and the robbery of well‑known Dominican musician Bulin 47, who was targeted using a GPS tracker that followed him from Massachusetts to a parking lot in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the recent crackdown results from the police department’s precision policing strategy, emphasizing relentless efforts to target dangerous gangs and firearms.
The Trinitarios gang, founded in 1993 on Rikers Island by Leonides “Junito” Sierra and Julio “Caballo” Marine, is a violent, transnational organization primarily composed of Dominican descent. The group evolved from a prison protection unit into a heavily armed crime syndicate that has infiltrated Dominican communities across the northeastern United States.
Defendants face life imprisonment if convicted of racketeering conspiracy, underscoring the seriousness with which authorities are treating the organization’s criminal activities.
