A confirmed high-ranking member of the Latin Kings street gang was sentenced today to 50 years in state prison, said First Assistant Union County Prosecutor Albert Cernadas, Jr.
Francisco Demoscoso (DOB 04/24/74) of Plainfield was found guilty in September 2010 for 1st degree attempted murder, 2nd degree aggravated assault and various weapons offenses.
According to the investigation, Demoscoso and fellow gang member Jorge Acosta attacked a Plainfield man outside the Chez Marie nightclub in the early morning hours of January 26, 2008, said Assistant Prosecutor Joshua McMahon who prosecuted the case.
Following the assault, the victim fled the scene, only to be chased down in the area of Park Avenue and North Avenue by Demoscoso and Acosta. Demoscoso repeatedly stabbed the victim, leaving him for dead on the street corner.
An alert Good Samaritan approached the victim, who pleaded with him to “don’t let me die,” and flagged down a nearby police vehicle, said McMahon. After being airlifted to Robert Wood Johnson hospital and extensive trauma surgery, the victim eventually regained consciousness and survived.
Demoscoso, a high-ranking member of the Latin Kings street gang, and his co-defendant, Jorge Acosta (DOB 06/06/87), also a member of the Latin Kings, were arrested in 2009 following an extensive collaborative investigation between the Plainfield Police Department and Union County Prosecutor’s Office, said McMahon.
At sentencing on Tuesday morning Union County Superior Court Judge Joseph P. Perfilio said the public needed to be protected from Demoscoso because he is a “danger to society.”