Crimes Nearby: Triple Murder Convict Sentenced, Illegal Trafficking Arrests

The following information was obtained from the Nassau County Police and Rockville Centre Police departments. A criminal charge is only an accusation, and does not indicate convictions.

Triple Murder Convict Sentenced to Life in Prison

An Elmont man was sentenced on July 25 to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted by a jury of the intentional murders of his mother, father, and brother. 

Dario Ormejuste, 26, was convicted on June 29 of one count of Murder in the First Degree, three counts of Murder in the Second Degree, and one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree.  

Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice said that on June 21, 2010, the defendant shot his brother, Guerby Ormejuste, 30, a New York City corrections officer, 10 times in the back and head at the Elmont home they shared. He then shot and killed his mother, Rose Ormejuste, 65, a nursing home healthcare aide. When his father, Bob Ormejuste, a 65-year-old maintenance worker, returned home from work, Dario Ormejuste shot him once in the head and once in the neck. The defendant placed his mother’s body in the trunk of his brother’s car, and abandoned the vehicle on a residential street in Brooklyn.

Two days later, a family member who went to the home to check on Guerby, who had not reported to work in two days, became suspicious when he heard loud music coming from upstairs. When no one answered the door, the family member called the Nassau County Police, which responded, entered the home, and discovered the bodies of Guerby and Bob covered in sheets with bleach-soaked towels near the doors.

Police exited the home and called for backup. Dario Ormejuste, who was upstairs in the home, came outside smoking a cigarette and was arrested following a brief struggle. New York City police officers discovered the body of Rose Ormejuste in the trunk of Guerby Ormejuste’s car on July 6, 2010, which was abandoned on a residential street in Brooklyn. Residents reported foul smells emanating from the vehicle and what were later discovered to be bodily fluids dripping from the trunk. Witnesses saw the defendant driving Guerby’s car at the scene at approximately 3 p.m. on the date of the incident.

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Police identified the murder weapon as a gun owned by Guerby, which was discovered in the defendant’s bedroom. Boots with the victims’ blood on them, and the defendant’s DNA in them, were also found at the scene.

 “No amount of prison time will ever be enough for Dario Ormejuste, but getting this murderer off the streets will at least guarantee that he will never harm another innocent victim again,” Rice said. 

Five men were recently arrested for allegedly buying illegal untaxed cartons of cigarettes and selling them to local retailers or on the street. A majority of the sales took place from a storage unit on Stewart Ave. in E. Garden City, according to Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.

The year-long, multi-agency investigation concluded Thursday with the arrests and the seizure of more than 100 cases of cigarettes and more than $958,000 in cash.

"We caught these defendants red-handed, trafficking untaxed cigarettes and cheating taxpayers out of millions in lost revenue for health care, education, job training, and other essential services," Rice said. 

Rice said a confidential informant began working with the DA’s office, the New York Police Department and the Queens DA’s Office on the joint investigation last July. Posing as somebody with access to untaxed and unstamped cigarettes at a reasonable price, an undercover police officer sold Duan Jun Zhang, of Elmhurst, hundreds of cases of untaxed cigarettes on 10 occasions in Florida and in Nassau County. Each case contains 60 cartons of cigarettes. Zhang, 38, paid a total of $1.8 million for the cigarettes, Rice said.

The undercover officer also sold untaxed cigarettes on multiple occasions to Fei Yin, 24, of Bayside; Maerong Gao, 57, of Flushing; Wai Ming Lui, 46, of Flushing; and Sauha Candy Lam, 35, of Flushing, according to the D.A.'s office.

Rice said all five defendants paid more than $2.3 million for approximately 1,200 cases of untaxed cigarettes worth more than $6.4 million during the course of the investigation. The defendants then transported the cigarettes to residences in Queens and Brooklyn and sold them to local retailers or on the street, according to the D.A.'s office.

A properly taxed carton of cigarettes in New York is approximately $90. The defendants were paying approximately $32 per carton, representing a potential loss to New York taxpayers of $3 million, Rice said.

Each defendant is charged with evasion of cigarette and tobacco product tax, a class E felony. They face up to four years in prison if convicted.

An alleged drunken driver hit another car on Meadow Lane in Lawrence last Sunday, mounting the sidewalk and nearly striking a house, according to a fire official.

Lawrence-Cedarhurst firefighters responded to the call and treated the man, said First Assistant Chief Anthony Rivelli. When Nassau County police officers arrived shortly after, the driver apparently became irate and began acting belligerent, Rivelli said.

The driver was taken into custody by officers and transported to South Nassau Communities Hospital.

No other injuries were reported and beach traffic was diverted through other local streets. 

Employees Allegedly Steal From Gulf Station

The owner of the Gulf Gas Station located at 2 Sunrise Highway in Rockville Centre reported to Rockville Centre Police on July 9 between April 2, 2007 and June 8, 2012, three employees allegedly stole profits from his gas station and car wash, totaling approximately $500,000.

String of Bike Thefts in RVC

Four bicycles were stolen in Rockville Centre between July 10 and July 15. Two of the bikes --  a Schwinn valued at $225, and a green 2011 LL Bean bicycle valued at $300 -- were taken from the vicinity of N. Park Avenue and Front Street in Rockville Centre. Two other Schwinns, valued at $350, were stolen from the rear yard of a home on Davison Place.

For questions about this crime report, email Tara.Conry@Patch.com.