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Denis Gutierrez-Marcos, age 20, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison in Nassau County Court on Thursday, March 23. It followed his guilty plea to second-degree murder and other charges in the death of Edwin Guerrero Hernandez.
Prosecutors said Gutierrez-Marcos was riding in a taxi minivan with two other passengers near High Street in Hempstead on Sept. 6, 2020. An argument broke out between a passenger in the front seat and another man in the rear.
When the passenger in the rear got out of the vehicle, he continued to yell at the man in the front. That’s when prosecutors said Gutierrez-Marcos, who was seated behind the driver, leaned forward and shot the man through the open window. He then told the taxi driver to leave the area.
The victim suffered a gunshot wound to his left shoulder and fell backwards.
Investigators said Hernandez, a friend of the victim, witnessed the shooting and chased after the taxi. When he attempted to open the vehicle’s door, Gutierrez-Marcos again fired through the open window, striking Hernandez.
Hernandez later died at Nassau University Medical Center.
According to prosecutors, Gutierrez-Marcos was involved in a second shooting in October 2020 in which he fired into a group of people standing outside a home on Jackson Street while seated in a moving car. Two people were hit, including one person who suffered life-threatening injuries. Both victims survived the attack.
He fled the scene and was on the run until June 2021, when he was finally arrested by the Nassau County Police Department Gang Squad.
“Denis Gutierrez-Marcos is a dangerous individual, and thankfully with today’s sentence, he will no longer terrorize our communities,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement.
On Feb. 9, Gutierrez-Marcos pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- Murder - 2nd degree (felony)
- Attempted Murder - 2nd degree (felony)
- Criminal Possession of a Weapon - 2nd degree (felony)
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