Jury Convicts East Meadow Man of Murder in Hempstead Shooting Case

LongIsland.com

Herber Guzman shot victim in the abdomen with a shotgun; faces 25 years to life in prison.

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Hempstead, NY - October 3rd, 2013 - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that an East Meadow man has been convicted of murder for shooting a stranger in the stomach with a shotgun on a Hempstead street last year.

The jury deliberated for a day before convicting Herber Guzman, 42, of Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison at his November 22 sentencing.

“This senseless killing shows the incredible danger this defendant poses to the community and today’s verdict will help ensure that Mr. Guzman is no longer able to endanger the public,” DA Rice said. “I am grateful to the Nassau County and Hempstead Police Departments for their excellent work in this case.”

DA Rice said that at approximately 4:30 a.m. on April 26, 2012, Guzman was in his white Kia Sportage on Marvin Street in Hempstead when he fired a shotgun into the abdomen of 46-year-old Stanley Cater.

During the course of the investigation, Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) homicide detectives were able to identify the vehicle and Guzman as its owner, and notified police officers in the area to be on the lookout for it. Guzman was arrested six days later when he was stopped for a routine traffic violation by Hempstead Police Department officers. Officers found a small bag of crack cocaine in the vehicle and brought Guzman to police headquarters where he was ultimately arrested for Cater’s murder by NCPD detectives.

After the three-week trial, the jury rejected the defense’s claims that Guzman was not the shooter.

Assistant District Attorney Martin Meaney of DA Rice’s Major Offense Bureau is prosecuting the case. Guzman is represented by Joseph LoPiccolo, Esq.