Man shot dead in struggle with armed robber at Hempstead restaurant, police say

A Salvadoran immigrant was shot and killed in a struggle with an armed Hempstead man who had been pistol-whipping a patron during an attempted robbery of a village restaurant last month, Nassau police said Thursday.

Deshawn Martin, 25, was arrested Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder in the Jan. 30 shooting death of Santos Argueta, 49, at Antojitos Express restaurant on Peninsula Boulevard in Hempstead Village.

Martin, who has two prior convictions for robbery with a firearm, was arraigned Thursday afternoon at First District Court in Hempstead, where he was held without bail.

He is due back in court Monday. Martin faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

Martin entered Antojitos Express shortly before 11 p.m. with a loaded firearm and ordered all of the patrons to get on the ground, before striking one man repeatedly in the head with his gun, according to a criminal complaint and video released by the restaurant owner, who shared it with Newsday,

Argueta ran at the gunman and then pushed him outside of the restaurant where Martin shot Argueta three times at close range in the forearm, chest and head, according to the charging documents.

Martin attempted to return to the restaurant to continue the robbery but patrons inside barricaded the door, said Det. Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick, commanding officer of the homicide squad, during a news conference Thursday in Mineola. Martin took Argueta's cellphone and fled, he said.

"He saw his friend being violently hit with a weapon," Fitzpatrick said. "He saw his opportunity to stop it. We don't condone that type of thing. Mr. Argueta wasn't armed himself. And obviously it didn't turn out in a good way. But he was going to the aide of his friend."

Police found Argueta with gunshot wounds on the sidewalk. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.

The unidentified victim who was pistol-whipped suffered only minor injuries, Fitzpatick said.

Martin's Mineola-based defense attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

Restaurant owner Abraham Hernandez, 24, told Newsday Argueta had been a familiar and friendly face. "He was a good person. He would come here and talk. I feel terrible about what happened."

Argueta moved to Hempstead Village in 2004 from El Salvador and worked in landscaping, said his brother, Jose Juan Argueta, 45.

Argueta is survived by three adult children. His body was to be flown Friday to Morazán, his home province in El Salvador, Jose Juan Argueta told Newsday.

The family was trying to raise $15,000 to cover the cost. A GoFundMe page on Thursday showed nearly $5,000 in donations.

At a Saturday vigil outside the restaurant, Argueta was remembered as a hardworking, generous man by family and co-workers.

"He had a big heart," said Joe Cappellino, 44, Argueta's landscaping boss. "He always shared whatever he had. If he had any food or drink, he would ask if you wanted some. He always did the right thing. He was a blessing."

Village trustee Clariona Griffith said Argueta's killing "doesn’t just kill one person, it kills the entire community."

With John Asbury, Lorena Mongelli and Keldy Ortiz

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com,@BrodskyRobert,

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.