Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that an alleged MS-13 member was sentenced today to 20 years to life in prison for murder and related charges for two shooting incidents in Hempstead in 2020.
Denis Gutierrez-Marcos, a/k/a Inqueto, 20, pleaded guilty on February 9, 2023, before Judge Tammy Robbins to one count of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony), one count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree (a B violent felony) and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C violent felony). The defendant was sentenced today to 20 years to life in prison. The NCDA recommended a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
“In September 2020, Edwin Guerrero Hernandez, seeing a commotion between his friend and the defendant, tried to intervene and was shot and killed,” said DA Donnelly. “The deadly encounter did not stop the defendant’s violent behavior and the next month he fired on a group of people, nearly killing another victim. Denis Gutierrez-Marcos is a dangerous individual, and thankfully with today’s sentence, he will no longer terrorize our communities.”
DA Donnelly said that, according to the investigation, on September 6, 2020, just before 4 a.m., the defendant was in taxi-cab minivan heading toward High Street in Hempstead, with two passengers and a driver. A passenger seated in the front seat had gotten into a verbal dispute with another passenger in the rear. When the passenger in the rear seat exited the vehicle, he continued to yell at the passenger seated in the front through the window. Gutierrez-Marcos, who was seated behind the driver, leaned forward, and shot the victim through the open window. He instructed the taxi driver to leave the scene. The bullet struck the victim in the left shoulder, and he fell backwards. A friend of the victim, Edwin Guerrero Hernandez, was sitting outside a High Street address when he saw the incident. Hernandez chased the vehicle and attempted to open the front passenger door. Again, the defendant fired through the window striking Hernandez. Hernandez was transported to Nassau University Medical center where he was pronounced deceased.
On October 23, 2020, at approximately 10 p.m., the defendant was a passenger in another vehicle that was being driven to a store. As the defendant returned home, he saw a group of people standing outside a Jackson Street address. Gutierrez-Marcos fired at least one shot into the group, which struck two people. One victim was struck in the arm, while the other was struck in the stomach and suffered life-threatening injuries. Both victims survived the attack.
According to the investigation, Gutierrez-Marcos fled the scene and was subsequently arrested by members of the Nassau County Police Department Gang Squad in June 2021 when he had returned to Long Island.
Daryl Levy, Deputy Chief of the Homicide Bureau, is prosecuting the case. The defendant is represented by William Shanahan, Esq.
