Hempstead Man Gets 16 Years for Fatal Shooting

By Timothy Bolger Posted on June 7, 2017

James Marckesano was arrested in Texas for a homicide in Hempstead. (NCPD)

A gunman who led police on a nationwide manhunt was sentenced Wednesday to 16 years in prison for fatally shooting a 28-year-old man in Hempstead two years ago.

James Marckesano had pleaded guilty in April at Nassau County court to manslaughter in the death of Victor Benitez. Both the suspect and the victim are from Hempstead. Charges of second-degree murder and weapons counts were dropped in exchange for Marckesano’s plea.

Authorities have said the 26-year-old man shot the victim, who was found lying on the ground on Clinton Street while suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen at 4:41 a.m. on July 4, 2015. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Marckesano was apprehended in Texas in December 2015.

About the Author

Timothy Bolger

Timothy Bolger is the Editor in Chief of the Long Island Press who’s been working to uncover unreported stories since shortly after it launched in 2003. When he’s not editing, getting hassled by The Man or fielding cold calls to the newsroom, he covers crime, general interest and political news in addition to reporting longer, sometimes investigative features. He won’t be happy until everyone is as pissed off as he is about how screwed up Lawn Guyland is.