A Hempstead man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the point-blank shooting of a man intervening during an armed robbery, with an additional 150 years for his extensive history of crime, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
On Wednesday, July 30, Deshawn Martin, 28, was convicted after a jury trial on June 4, for several crimes, including murder and six counts of robbery.
The conviction follows Martin’s armed robbery of an Antojitos Express on Peninsula Boulevard in Hempstead in January 2022.
Martin entered the restaurant brandishing a loaded firearm and ordered everyone to get on the floor, proceeding to repeatedly pistol-whip a patron. Santos Valeriano Argueta, 49, intervened to protect the fellow patron, pushing Martin out of the store where he was shot three times at close range.
“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,” said Donnelly. “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.”
Following the shooting, Martin went through the victim’s pockets, stealing his phone and continued his crime spree, committing two additional armed robberies days later.
On Feb. 3, 2022, Martin robbed both a 7-Eleven store at 333 Oak St. in Uniondale and a Dunkin Donuts at 467 Old Country Road in Westbury, both while displaying a firearm.
Martin was arrested six days later, in Freeport, by detectives of the Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad and Bureau of Special Operations.
Martin’s additional 152 consecutive years were on account of a history of similar crimes, being conviction for three October 2021 robberies.
On October 22, 2021, Martin entered a Subway store at 1341 Jerusalem Ave. in North Merrick, covering his right hand with a paper bag. Martin indicated he had a gun, stole cash and fled the scene.
The next day, Martin drove to a Dunkin Donuts store at 432 Jerusalem Ave. in Hicksville, repeating the same crime, stealing approximately $1,315.
The crime spree ended on October 26, 2021, when Martin repeated the crime at a 7-Eleven on 150 Sunnyside Boulevard in Plainview, stealing approximately $200 while wearing a bandana.
“Deshawn Martin’s life of crime speaks for itself, dating back many years and through multiple jurisdictions,” said Donnelly. “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.”
