Driver In 2024 Fatal DWI Pleads Guilty, Prosecutors Say

MINEOLA, NY. — A Hempstead man pleaded guilty to charges from a trio of incidents including burglary, DWI and manslaughter, prosecutors announced Wednesday, with Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly recommending that the man serve 25 years in prison.

According to prosecutors, 35-year-old Elvin Maradiaga Ortiz pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, second-degree manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death, DWI, third-degree assault and petit larceny. The district attorney’s office said it expected a sentence of 19 years when Ortiz is sentenced in May, but that the prosecution had recommended a sentence of 25.

“From violent robberies to the alcohol-fueled crash that killed his own passenger, this defendant demonstrated a consistent disregard for human life,” Donnelly said. “He left a dying victim behind in an attempt to escape responsibility for his violent past, but his own DNA ultimately exposed the truth. The extensive investigation and relentless work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners built a powerful case that led to this guilty plea. No outcome can undo the loss suffered by the victims and their families, but this result removes a dangerous criminal from our streets.”

According to the prosecution, Ortiz had been driving a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee westbound on Jerusalem Avenue in Uniondale while intoxicated on the morning of Feb. 24, 2024. There were two passengers in the car with him, prosecutors said, when he drove the Grand Cherokee off the road and struck a pole, at which point the vehicle flipped over.

After the crash, prosecutors said Ortiz ran away from the car, leaving 35-year-old Alex Banegas Figueroa unconscious in the back seat. Figueroa was taken to Nassau University Medical Center and pronounced dead a week later, prosecutors said.

An investigation into the crash revealed that Ortiz had been drinking the night of the crash, prosecutors said, and revealed DNA samples that connected Ortiz to other incidents. Those incidents, prosecutors said, included a 2019 cocaine deal, a pair of burglaries in 2021 and another in 2023. At the time of the 2021, 2023 and 2024 incidents, prosecutors said Ortiz had been wearing a GPS ankle monitor that he had been wearing since a 2020 ICE arrest, which confirmed his presence at the scene of each incident.

Ortiz is due back in court May 18 for sentencing. His attorney, Chris Devane, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.