On a cold January evening in Hempstead, New York, 49-year-old Santos Valeriano Argueta, who had moved from El Salvador in 2004, was eating dinner at Antojitos Express when a robbery attempt at a nearby deli escalated. A man entered the restaurant and began pistol-whipping another patron; Argueta intervened to stop the attack. The suspect, identified as Deshawn Martin, pulled Argueta outside near Peninsula Boulevard and Sewell Street and shot him three times. Argueta was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead from multiple gunshot wounds.

Police arrested 25-year-old Deshawn Martin of Hempstead in Freeport and charged him with first-degree murder. Investigators say Martin rifled Argueta’s pockets, stole his cell phone, and fled; Martin was also linked to a string of other robberies in the area. Argueta, a father of three, was remembered by his family as a hero and his body was returned to El Salvador for funeral and burial.

Does anyone have information about that night or remember seeing activity near Peninsula Boulevard and Sewell Street?