A 32-year-old Bay Shore man was sentenced Thursday to 25 years to life in prison for the fatal shooting of his housemate last year, Suffolk County prosecutors said.
Darwin Josue Maldonado Vanegas was convicted in March of Murder in the Second Degree and related weapons charges in the killing of 24-year-old Daniel Nunez-Hernandez inside a shared home in Bay Shore.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, police responded to the residence on April 3, 2025, at approximately 11:20 p.m., where they found Nunez-Hernandez dead on a basement couch with gunshot wounds to his chest and arm. Two 9mm shell casings were recovered near the body.
Investigators determined that Maldonado Vanegas and the victim rented separate rooms in the same house. Witnesses reported hearing two gunshots from the basement earlier that morning. When other tenants returned home later in the day, they discovered the victim and contacted police.
Authorities said records placed Maldonado Vanegas at the home around the time the shots were heard. A magazine loaded with 12 rounds of 9mm ammunition was later recovered from his bedroom, hidden between a mattress and box spring.
Prosecutors said Maldonado Vanegas fled New York following the shooting, withdrawing a significant amount of cash from his bank account. He was tracked to Atlantic City, where he stopped using his original cellphone and obtained another device, before traveling to Miami.
He was arrested on May 7, 2025, in Miami by Suffolk County Police homicide detectives working with local law enforcement.
On March 17, 2026, a jury found him guilty of Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A-I felony, as well as Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree and Third Degree.
On April 16, 2026, Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard Horowitz sentenced Maldonado Vanegas to 25 years to life in prison.
Prosecutors said federal immigration authorities have indicated they will seek to deport him after he completes his sentence.
Photo: SCDA
