A Hempstead man pleaded guilty on the eve of trial to charges stemming from multiple indictments, including burglary and robbery charges for several incidents in 2021 and 2023 and a separate manslaughter charge for a February 2024 DWI crash that killed one of his passengers, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced on Wednesday, March 18.
Elvin Maradiaga Ortiz pleaded guilty on Monday, March 16, to charges of burglary, robbery, criminal sale of a controlled substance, manslaughter, leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death, driving while intoxicated, assault and petit larceny. He is expected to be sentenced to 19 years in prison on May 18, Donnelly said, while recommending a sentence of 25 years.
On Feb. 24, 2024, Ortiz was driving a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with two passengers in the car westbound on Jerusalem Avenue in Uniondale while intoxicated, Donnelly said.
While traveling along Jerusalem Avenue, Ortiz drove off the roadway, causing the vehicle to strike a pole and flip over, the DA said. After the collision, Ortiz fled the scene on foot, leaving his backseat passenger, 35-year-old Alex Banegas Figueroa, unconscious in the Jeep, she said.
Figueroa was transported to a hospital after the crash and was pronounced dead one week later on March 1, 2024, Donnelly said.
An investigation revealed that Ortiz drank multiple alcoholic beverages over the course of several hours at a local bar before the collision, Donnelly said,
During the investigation into the fatal crash, prosecutors connected Ortiz to several previously committed crimes using a DNA sample recovered from the scene and GPS evidence, the DA said.
On Aug. 5, 2021, Ortiz broke into a second-floor apartment in a home in Elmont and stole a safe containing $20,000 from a bedroom closet while the homeowner was asleep in another part of the house, Donnelly said.
The homeowner heard noises coming from the apartment and the back of the house and found three men, including Ortiz, wearing dark clothes, hoodies, and face masks, she said. One of the men threatened to shoot the homeowner if he moved, leading to the homeowner going back inside the house while the men ran off, Donnelly said.
Police reviewed video footage from the front and backyard of the home, and video footage from a home a block over from the crime scene captured the men entering a car. Police later recovered a pair of gloves, a face mask and a T-shirt in front of that residence and prosecutors matched Ortiz’s DNA to a DNA sample found on the mask recovered at that location, Donnelly said.
In another incident, on Aug. 12, 2021, Ortiz stole jewelry from an apartment in Floral Park, including three watches, a diamond engagement ring and a white gold necklace, the DA said.
The investigation also revealed that in 2023, he broke into a West Hempstead home around 4 a.m. The victim opened his bedroom door to go to the bathroom and saw Ortiz and others dressed in black and wearing masks.
The individuals, armed with weapons, pushed the victim back into the bedroom and threw him to the floor. The victim was held at gunpoint as they ripped three gold necklaces from the victim’s neck and a gold bracelet from his wrist, Donnelly said.
A video search uncovered footage at the end of the street that showed three men getting out of a dark-colored sedan and additional videos backtracked the sedan to Hempstead, where Ortiz was seen getting into the vehicle, the DA said.
At the time of the crimes in 2021, 2023, and 2024, Ortiz had been wearing an ankle monitor that tracked his location following an arrest by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2020, she said.
GPS records corroborated Orttiz’s presence at each of the scenes, Donnelly said.
The investigation also revealed that in 2019, Ortiz sold cocaine to another person in Hempstead, Donnelly said.
