Nassau Man Sentenced For Fatal Shooting, Robberies

HEMPSTEAD, NY — A Hempstead man was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted of six robberies and 2022 attempted robbery where a 49-year-old man was shot and killed at point-blank range, prosecutors said.

Deshawn Martin, 28, was convicted after a jury trial on June 4, on charges that include six counts of first-degree robbery, four counts of first-degree criminal use of a firearm, three counts of second-degree robbery, first-degree attempted robbery and second-degree assault, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.

Martin was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison without possibility of parole on the first-degree murder conviction, as well as a total of 152 consecutive years of prison time on the 18 other counts of which the jury found him guilty, Donnelly said.

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

Martin pistol-whipped a patron, the first victim, several times.

Forty-nine-year-old Santos Valeriano Argueta intervened and pushed Martin out of the storefront, Donnelly 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.

As Argueta was on the ground, Martin went through the victim’s pockets, stole his cell phone, and fled the scene, the D.A.'s office said.

Just days after the shooting, on February 3, Martin committed two additional robberies, Donnelly said.

During the overnight hours, Martin entered a 7-Eleven store in Uniondale displaying a gun. He then robbed the store at gunpoint and fled, Donnelly said.

Hours later, Martin entered a Dunkin Donuts in Westbury and again, with a firearm displayed, robbed the store, she said.

Martin was also convicted of three October 2021 robberies he committed.

“No words of solace can ever ease the pain of losing a loved one, especially one who tried to do the right thing, even while staring down the barrel of a gun. Santos Valeriano Argueta heroically intervened when Deshawn Martin entered Antojitos Express in Hempstead in January 2022, brandishing a loaded firearm. After Martin pistol-whipped another patron multiple times, Santos tried to protect him, losing his life in the process,” said Donnelly. “Deshawn Martin’s life of crime speaks for itself, dating back many years and through multiple jurisdictions. This sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole puts him exactly where he belongs, in a cold jail cell and far-removed from society, where he’ll no longer be able to put the lives of innocent people at risk.”

Martin is represented by attorney Jeffrey Groder, and Patch attempted to get a comment from him.