Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Anthony Santiesteban, 32, of Centereach, was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison, after a jury found him guilty in June of Murder in the Second Degree and other related charges, for fatally shooting Martina Thompson, 33, of East Patchogue, in October 2022.
“This defendant deliberately took the life of Martina Thompson, whose children will now have to live without their mother,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Murder does not just end one life, it devastates families, friends, and entire communities. While no punishment can ever truly compensate for the loss of a loved one, this sentence ensures the defendant will face severe consequences for this grievous act and will no longer pose a danger to the public.”
The evidence at trial established that in the early morning hours of October 29, 2022, surveillance video captured Santiesteban and the victim engaging in a conversation next to Santiesteban’s Jeep Cherokee in a parking lot in Coram. Santiesteban was then seen on video following the victim into a fenced area at the rear of the parking lot. Immediately afterwards, at approximately 1:03 a.m., a gunshot is heard on the video recording, and Santiesteban was captured walking out of the fenced area with a semi-automatic handgun in his hand. Santiesteban then entered his Jeep and left the scene.
At 1:25 a.m., the police found the victim with a gunshot wound to her face, lying in a pool of blood. She was transported to Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue where she was pronounced dead.
On November 2, 2022, police searched Santiesteban’s bedroom pursuant to a search warrant and recovered a loaded and defaced 9 mm handgun. Ballistics testing confirmed the bullet casing found next to the victim’s body came from the gun found in the bedroom.
On June 24, 2024, Santiesteban was convicted of the following charges after a jury trial heard before Acting Supreme Court Justice Anthony S. Senft Jr.:
- One count of Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A felony;
- Two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Class C violent felonies; and
- One count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a Class D violent felony.
On August 1, 2024, Justice Senft sentenced Santiesteban to 40 years to life in prison. He was represented by Jonathan Manley, Esq. and Peter Mayer, Esq.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Elena Tomaro of the Homicide Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Joseph Mallek of the Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detectives Luis Cabrera and Thomas Henry of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Homicide Squad.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.