Mineola, NY - June 16, 2015 - Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a Nassau jury found a Hempstead man guilty today in the March 2013 stabbing death of 28-year-old Darwin Hernandez, also of Hempstead.
Luis Moreno, 38, was found guilty today of Murder in the 2nd Degree (an A felony) and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the 4th Degree (an A misdemeanor). The jury deliberated for about an hour after a trial that lasted seven days before Acting Nassau Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty.
Moreno faces a maximum sentence on the top charge of 25 years to life in prison. He is due back in court for sentencing on July 15.
“In the course of committing this brutal crime, Mr. Moreno held his victim’s jacket to ensure that he could not flee – all while stabbing Mr. Hernandez numerous times across his body, including his hands, as he attempted to defend himself,” Acting DA Singas said. “Today’s guilty verdict ensures that this violent criminal will be off our streets for a long time to come.”
Acting DA Singas said that at approximately at 4:20 p.m. on March 2, 2013, Moreno stabbed Hernandez multiple times in the chest, hand, abdomen, groin, and head behind a laundromat on Clinton Street in Hempstead. Hernandez died from blood loss caused by a puncture wound to his heart. His body was later found nearby on Lincoln Boulevard.
Moreno was taken into custody by Hempstead Police at 12:50 p.m. on March 24, 2013, a few doors down from the location on Clinton Street where Hernandez’s body was found. The knife used in the crime was never recovered.
Assistant District Attorney Ania Pulaski of Acting DA Singas’ Major Offense Bureau is prosecuting the case. Moreno is represented by Jeffrey Groder, Esq.