Hempstead Man Gets 34 Years for Christmas Shooting

Mas-Aguilar was found guilty of attempted murder in November for shooting peacemaker in the chest on Christmas morning

MINEOLA, NY – Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that Orlando Mas-Aguilar has been sentenced to 34 years after being found guilty of attempted murder and other crimes for shooting a man who tried to stop Mas-Aguilar and another man from fighting on Christmas morning in 2007.

Mas-Aguilar, 56, of Hempstead, was convicted by a jury of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Assault in the First Degree, Criminal Use of a Firearm in the First Degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fourth Degree.

Rice said that in the early morning hours of December 25, 2007, Mas-Aguilar and another man were engaged in a verbal argument in the rear parking lot of the Vista Alegre Deli in Uniondale. Mas-Aguilar produced a handgun and approached the man he had been arguing with. Another man, Emanuel Hernandez Medran, stepped in to try to diffuse the situation when he was shot in the chest by Mas-Aguilar. Hernandez Medran spent 10 days in intensive care and eventually recovered.

At the time of this shooting, Mas-Aguilar had been out of prison for less than a year after serving 25 years in prison on a 1981 New York City homicide conviction.

“The only way to protect our society from Mr. Mas-Aguilar is to put him in prison for as long as possible,” Rice said. “Unfortunately, the defendant remains unchanged by the 25 years he spent in prison. He has proven himself incapable of living outside of confinement.”

Assistant District Attorney Martin Meaney of the DA’s Major Offense Bureau is handling the case for the District Attorney’s Office. Mas-Aguilar is being represented by Paul Zsuffa, Esq.