In the early morning hours of the Fourth of July in 2015, Victor Benitez, a 28-year-old Hispanic male, found his life tragically cut short on a sidewalk in his hometown of Hempstead, New York. A father of two, Benitez was known for his dedication to his children, a 9-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, working two jobs to provide for them. His evenings were spent as a bouncer, and on that particular morning, after finishing his shift, he made a stop at the Clinton Deli and Grocery on Clinton
Street for something to eat. It was a decision that placed him in the path of fatal violence.
At approximately 4:41 a.m., as Benitez stood outside the bustling deli, he was struck by a single gunshot to the chest. Surveillance footage from the deli captured the harrowing moments. Benitez was seen conversing with another man just before he suddenly clutched his chest and stumbled, collapsing in the doorway of the establishment. A patrolling police car was flagged down, but it was too late. Victor Benitez was pronounced dead at the scene. The news devastated his family, who remembered him as a man without enemies and a father whose children were his entire world.
The investigation into the senseless killing soon focused on an acquaintance of Benitez, a 24-year-old man named James Marckesano. The two had grown up together in Hempstead. According to court records, an angry exchange of words between Marckesano and Benitez outside the deli escalated dramatically. Marckesano reportedly walked to a car, retrieved a handgun, and shot Benitez before fleeing the scene. This act sparked a nationwide manhunt for Marckesano, who had fled the state to evade capture.
Several months later, in November 2015, authorities tracked James Marckesano to Houston, Texas, where he was arrested. He was extradited back to Nassau County in December to face justice for the murder of Victor Benitez. Initially charged with second-degree murder and weapons possession, Marckesano eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in April 2017. As a result of the plea deal, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison, closing a painful chapter for the family and community who mourned the loss of a devoted father.
