Authorities have arrested a second suspect in connection with the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Jeremy Ortega and the theft of his diamond jewelry in the Bronx in April 2025. Lenyn Toribio, 27, was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon in the Bronx on charges of attempted murder and attempted manslaughter, officials said. Toribio joins 25-year-old Welfy Espinal, who was already in police custody and faces charges including murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a firearm.

The two men were indicted federally in June on counts of interstate stalking resulting in death. Investigators detailed a premeditated scheme involving the placement of a GPS tracking device on Ortega’s vehicle days before the fatal attack. Toribio activated the device on March 28, 2025, and Espinal later affixed it to Ortega’s car, allowing the suspects to monitor his movements.

According to court documents, the tracking led the suspects to an Upper Manhattan nightclub where Ortega was observed wearing diamond-studded jewelry. On April 12, 2025, the pair followed Ortega to a Midtown restaurant and subsequently surveilled the neighborhood of his home in Throggs Neck, apparently planning to rob him. They circled the block for approximately ten minutes before temporarily leaving the area to switch vehicles. They returned about an hour before Ortega arrived and then attacked him.

Witnesses and family members provided harrowing accounts of the incident. Ortega’s mother, Yokasta Ortega, described seeing her son being pursued and shot multiple times outside their home. She had unlocked the front door for her son, who had forgotten his keys, and was inside when she heard the gunfire. “I was yelling, ‘Please don’t kill my son, please don’t kill my son!’” she said. She recounted watching Espinal shoot Jeremy from behind as he tried to flee.

The victim’s sister, Brianna Ortega, said that Espinal was once a close friend of Jeremy’s, having known him since high school and frequently spending time with him. “They would ride around in the car together. They would go play basketball … They would do a lot of stuff together,” Brianna said. Toribio was introduced to Jeremy through Espinal several years earlier, she added.

The case has drawn attention not only for its violent nature but also for the calculated efforts by the suspects to track and target Ortega over a period of weeks. Authorities continue their investigation as Toribio faces prosecution alongside Espinal.