Mineola, NY - June 13, 2014 - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that an East Meadow man has been sentenced to prison for the fatal shooting of a stranger on a Hempstead street in 2012.
Herber Guzman, 42, of East Meadow, was sentenced today by Nassau County Court Judge William Donnino to 25 years to life in prison. Guzman was also sentenced to time served for possession of crack cocaine. He was found guilty by a Nassau County jury in October 2013 of Murder in the 2nd Degree (an A felony) and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree (an A misdemeanor).
“This sentence ensures that this defendant will not pose a threat to the community for a very long time, and that he will be held accountable for the senseless killing of his victim,” DA Rice said. “I would like to thank the Nassau County and Hempstead Police Departments for their efforts in getting this dangerous man off of our streets.”
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 Martin Geduldig, Esq.