{"id":15568,"date":"2026-06-16T20:02:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568"},"modified":"2026-06-16T20:02:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:02:59","slug":"duo-used-gps-tracker-to-stalk-kill-former-friend-in-front-of-mother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568","title":{"rendered":"Duo used GPS tracker to stalk, kill former friend in front of mother"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u200bNEW YORK \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Two men used a GPS tracker to stalk a former friend before shooting him to death in front of his mother as they stole his diamond jewelry, according to prosecutors and the victim\u2019s heartbroken family.<\/p>\n

Read more Chicago hot dog staple Jim\u2019s Original opens in Orange<\/a><\/p>\n

Welfy Espinal, 25, and Lenyn Toribio, 27, were charged in a federal indictment unsealed Friday with interstate stalking resulting in death in the shocking slay of 24-year-old Jeremy Ortega on April 13, 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw everything,\u201d the victim\u2019s mother, Yokasta Ortega, told the New York Daily News Monday. \u201cI was yelling, \u2018Please don\u2019t kill my son, please don\u2019t kill my son!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Just days before he was gunned down, Jeremy posted a picture of himself on Instagram with a flashy diamond watch on his wrist over the caption, \u201cThank God for another year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The suspects allegedly shot Jeremy twice in the chest as he was arriving home on Quincy Ave. near Hardin Ave. in Throggs Neck about 4:45 a.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would you do that? Why would you kill him that way? What was all the envy and hate for?\u201d Yokasta said. \u201cYou knew that my son was a really good person \u2014 because you grew up with him!\u201d<\/p>\n

The victim\u2019s mother said she had unlocked her home\u2019s front door for her son, who had forgotten his keys, and went upstairs to await his return. When she didn\u2019t hear him enter, she glanced outside to see Jeremy attempting to flee his attackers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I realized he was running, I ran straight downstairs and then that\u2019s when I saw Welfy shooting him from behind,\u201d Yokasta said. \u201cIt was terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The mom ran to her wounded son, shaking him and tapping his face, but he showed no signs of life. Medics rushed Jeremy to Jacobi Medical Center, where he died about an hour later.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel good that they have been caught, but nothing can bring my son back,\u201d said Yokasta. \u201cThey ruined my life. They killed him right in front of me. It\u2019s terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said Espinal was busted in New Jersey, while Toribio is still being sought.<\/p>\n

Investigators traced the killers\u2019 scheme back to March 28, 2025, the day Toribio activated the GPS tracking device that Espinal placed under the victim\u2019s car a few days later, Clayton said. The pair used the device to track the victim the following day to an Upper Manhattan nightclub, where they observed Jeremy wearing diamond-studded jewelry.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

On April 12, 2025, the suspects followed Jeremy to a Midtown restaurant, then drove to Throggs Neck to surveil the neighborhood where they planned to rob him later that night, circling the block around Jeremy\u2019s home for roughly 10 minutes, court documents say.<\/p>\n

The pair then left, switched vehicles and returned about an hour before Jeremy arrived home. When they spotted their target, the suspects chased him down, shot him multiple times and stole a bag containing the victim\u2019s diamond jewelry, Clayton said.<\/p>\n

The suspects fled using multiple vehicles and a stolen license plate to avoid detection \u2014 but they never removed the tracker from Jeremy\u2019s car, the feds say.<\/p>\n

Investigators traced the device back to Toribio, who registered the tracker using his name, email and phone number. Data collected from the tracker also showed the device inside Toribio\u2019s home prior to it being placed under the victim\u2019s car.<\/p>\n

Jeremy\u2019s sister Brianna Ortega said that Espinal was an old friend of her brother\u2019s from high school and that the killer was once welcome in their home.<\/p>\n

Read more All-Orange County baseball team, players of the year 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Espinal \u201cwould do everything with Jeremy growing up,\u201d said Brianna, 19. \u201cThey would ride around in the car together. They would go play basketball \u2026 They would do a lot of stuff together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Espinal has multiple arrests on his record, most recently in October when he was discovered carrying a dagger during a traffic stop, court documents show. A month before that, he drove into oncoming traffic in an attempt to flee another traffic stop, but was arrested after refusing multiple orders to exit his vehicle. He was also cuffed inside his Bronx home in 2024 after punching a family member in the face and choking them.<\/p>\n

An attorney for Espinal declined to comment on his arrest in Jeremy\u2019s slaying.<\/p>\n

The victim was also acquainted with Toribio, whom he met a few years before the attack, his sister said. The victim\u2019s family believes his killers were jealous of Jeremy, who worked as a supervisor at a recycling company.<\/p>\n

The victim\u2019s younger brother recalled learning of the attack from his mother, who Facetimed him moments after Jeremy was shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe called me and she was in so much agony and distress that I couldn\u2019t figure out what was going on,\u201d said Jayden Ortega, 21. \u201cShe was telling me what was happening but it wasn\u2019t clicking for me. For a second, I just thought to myself, \u2018Is this real?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeremy had a diamond watch and a Cartier bracelet in a Louis Vuitton messenger bag that was stolen by the duo, his sister said. He was also wearing a chain that was not stolen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey took whatever jewelry was in his bag that he had on him,\u201d the victim\u2019s sister said.<\/p>\n

Jeremy was raised by a single mother and helped raise his younger siblings.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was like a father figure,\u201d Brianna said. \u201cHe barely slept. He was always just working and working and working.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeremy, who was the victim of a previous gunpoint robbery, appeared tense in the months leading up to his death.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just felt like a lot of people were watching him and focused on him,\u201d Brianna said. \u201cSo he was always moving with this sort of caution whenever he stepped out of the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now the family\u2019s house \u201cjust feels empty,\u201d Brianna said. \u201cHe was what gave life to this house. He was so full of joy and happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brianna recalled her 12th birthday, when Jeremy took her to Six Flags Great Adventure and then gave her a green iPhone she wanted.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was always excited, like every day. There was not a day where he woke up and he wasn\u2019t like that,\u201d Brianna said. \u201cHe just enjoyed and was very content with life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeremy, who cops say had no criminal record, graduated from James Monroe High School in 2019.<\/p>\n

His brother called him \u201ca very caring person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[Jeremy] was always the loudest in the house, making jokes, uplifting moods,\u201d said Jayden. \u201cHe was someone that anyone would want to be around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more J.J. Spaun doesn\u2019t need to be a \u2018perfect golfer\u2019 to validate his U.S. Open triumph<\/a><\/p>\n

With Molly Crane-Newman<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The suspects are accused of attaching a GPS tracker to victim Jeremy Ortega’s car to stalk him in the days leading up to his slaying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDuo used GPS tracker to stalk, kill former friend in front of mother - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Duo used GPS tracker to stalk, kill former friend in front of mother - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The suspects are accused of attaching a GPS tracker to victim Jeremy Ortega's car to stalk him in the days leading up to his slaying.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-16T20:02:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=15568#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=15568\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"headline\":\"Duo used GPS tracker to stalk, kill former friend in front of mother\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T20:02:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=15568\"},\"wordCount\":1138,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=15568#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3e0d5d502778df65524389af6de2ebf1.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=15568#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=15568\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=15568\",\"name\":\"Duo used GPS tracker to stalk, kill former friend in front of mother - Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=15568#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=15568#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3e0d5d502778df65524389af6de2ebf1.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T20:02:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=15568#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=15568\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=15568#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3e0d5d502778df65524389af6de2ebf1.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3e0d5d502778df65524389af6de2ebf1.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=15568#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Duo used GPS tracker to stalk, kill former friend in front of mother\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Duo used GPS tracker to stalk, kill former friend in front of mother - Silicon Valley Moving Post","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Duo used GPS tracker to stalk, kill former friend in front of mother - Silicon Valley Moving Post","og_description":"The suspects are accused of attaching a GPS tracker to victim Jeremy Ortega's car to stalk him in the days leading up to his slaying.","og_url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568","og_site_name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","article_published_time":"2026-06-16T20:02:59+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"headline":"Duo used GPS tracker to stalk, kill former friend in front of mother","datePublished":"2026-06-16T20:02:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568"},"wordCount":1138,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3e0d5d502778df65524389af6de2ebf1.webp","articleSection":["Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568","name":"Duo used GPS tracker to stalk, kill former friend in front of mother - Silicon Valley Moving Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3e0d5d502778df65524389af6de2ebf1.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-16T20:02:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3e0d5d502778df65524389af6de2ebf1.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3e0d5d502778df65524389af6de2ebf1.webp","width":1024,"height":682},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15568#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Duo used GPS tracker to stalk, kill former friend in front of mother"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/","name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com"],"url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}