Nassau Man Convicted Of Point-Blank Murder; 6 Robberies: DA

MINEOLA, NY — A Hempstead man was convicted of six robberies and an attempted robbery at a restaurant where a man was shot and killed at point-blank range, prosecutors said.

Deshawn Martin, 28, was convicted after a jury trial on charges that include first-degree murder, six counts of first-degree robbery, four counts of first-degree criminal use of a firearm, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree assault, Nassau County D.A. Anne Donnelly said.

Jurors deliberated for four hours before delivering their verdict. Martin is due back in court on July 21, and faces a maximum of up to life in prison without parole, Donnelly said.

On the evening of January 30, 2022, Donnelly said, Martin entered Antojitos Express on Peninsula Boulevard in Hempstead carrying a loaded firearm and ordered everyone in the restaurant to get on the ground.

He pistol whipped a customer, the first victim, several times. Forty-nine-year-old Santos Valeriano Argueta intervened and pushed out of the storefront, prosecutors said.

Once outside, Martin shot Argueta three times at close range, striking him in the forearm and head, then putting the barrel of his gun to Argueta’s chest and firing once more, she said.

Days after the shooting, Martin committed two robberies: one at a 7-Eleven in Uniondale, the other at a Dunkin Donuts in Westbury. He was also convicted of three October 2021 robberies, Donnelly said.

“In January 2022, Deshawn Martin did the unthinkable, putting the barrel of his gun to Santos Valeriano Argueta’s chest and pulling the trigger after the husband and father heroically intervened when this defendant repeatedly and mercilessly pistol-whipped another man in the restaurant he was trying to rob. Santos was a decent and honorable man, only trying to protect his friend and the other terrified patrons when Martin determined his life was meaningless and ended it,” DA Donnelly said. “This defendant is nothing more than a cold-blooded killer and a true career criminal, holding up several other Nassau stores three months before he murdered Santos in Hempstead and picking up an additional arrest for robbery in Florida in the time between. He is a threat to the safety of our residents, and he should spend the rest of his life behind bars.”

Patch attempted to get a comment from Martin's attorney Jeffrey Groder.