Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that an alleged MS-13 member was sentenced today to 23 years to life in prison for the murder of an 18-year-old man in Cow Meadow Park in March 2021 and the attempted murder of a Nassau County Police Department detective.
Marvin Moralez, 21, a/k/a Little Chucky, pleaded guilty on February 14, 2023, before Judge Teresa Corrigan to one count of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony) for his role in the murder of Daniel Garcia-Carbajal in Freeport’s Cow Meadow Park on March 1, 2021, and Attempted Murder in the First Degree (an A-I felony) for pointing a loaded handgun at a Nassau County Police Department detective on March 15, 2021.
The defendant was sentenced today to 23 years to life in prison. The NCDA recommended a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
“Marvin Moralez participated in the callous murder of an 18-year-old man, and just two weeks later, pointed a loaded gun at a police officer’s chest,” said DA Donnelly. “This dangerous individual will now spend decades in prison paying for his crimes, unable to cause further harm to Nassau communities.”
According to the investigation, in the early morning hours of March 1, 2021, Daniel Garcia-Carbajal was allegedly contacted by a male co-defendant on social media and invited to hang out with girls. The 18-year-old victim was picked up in a car and taken to Cow Meadow Park in Freeport. Garcia-Carbajal entered the park with multiple people – including Moralez – that afternoon and was shot once in his head causing his death.
A family member reported Garcia-Carbajal missing and his body was found the following day in the park. The victim was a perceived enemy of MS-13 due to his social media posts.
Cases against co-defendants Tulio Ayala, Manuel Aparicio Gomez, Kevin Torres, and Henry Canales in Garcia-Carbajal’s death are pending.
On March 15, 2021, Moralez was a passenger in a Hyundai SUV operating at a high rate of speed in a Hempstead parking lot. Nearby police officers activated their vehicle’s lights, and the Hyundai did not immediately stop. An NCPD detective left his vehicle and approached the Hyundai when Moralez exited the passenger door and pointed a loaded gun at the officer’s chest. Moralez was arrested at the scene.
Veronica Guariglia, Deputy Chief of the Homicide Bureau, is prosecuting the case. The defendant is represented by Scott Gross, Esq.
The charges against the other defendants are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.
