Nassau Man Convicted Of Beating Man To Death

On Wednesday, a Mineola man was found guilty of a 2016 murder in which he beat a man to death while he was asleep in a park.

Marvin Yanez, 43, was convicted of second-degree murder, second-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. The jury deliberated the charges for just five hours. He is due back in court Nov. 13 for sentencing and faces 15 to 25 years to life in prison.

"This defendant brutally beat and killed his 31-year-old victim while he was asleep in a Hempstead park," District Attorney Madeline Singas said. "My heart goes out to the family of Luis Estrada, and I hope that today’s conviction for this horrific crime brings them some comfort."

On Oct. 18, 2016 at approximately 7:30 p.m., Yanez and victim, Luis Estrada, 31, were fighting near the Laundry Palace on Clinton Avenue in Hempstead. During the fight, Yanez grabbed a hammer from his Ford pickup truck and attacked Estrada, hitting him in the arm. During that fight, Yanez told Estrada, "this war isn’t over, you started this war and I’m going to finish it."

At approximately 11 p.m., Yanez went to Brierley Park in Hempstead, where Estrada was sleeping on the ground, and beat him in the head with an unknown object. A friend of Estrada began looking for him inside the park, and at approximately 11:45 p.m., found him bleeding from blunt force trauma injuries to his head. He was transported to NYU Winthrop hospital by ambulance, and later died of his injuries.

Photo: Nassau County District Attorney's Office