The ruthless killer who shot the owner and a customer at a business in Copiague has been sentenced.

Copiague 

An armed assailant who discharged a firearm and intentionally inflicted harm upon multiple individuals within a deli located in Long Island, resulting in the deaths of the establishment's proprietor and an additional patron, has been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

On March 16, in Suffolk County Court, Dionicio Calderon of Copiague, who is 65 years old, was given a 75-year to life imprisonment sentence. This was after he was found guilty of murder and other charges connected to a shooting that occurred inside La Vaquita deli, which is located on Great Neck Road in Copiague, in December 2020.

Calderon was reported to have entered the deli at just past 6 p.m. on December 12, 2020. Following a period of drinking, he unexpectedly drew and discharged a 9 mm handgun, injuring several individuals.

Manuel Cruz Hernandez, who was from North Amityville and a customer, was the initial casualty. He was shot multiple times in the head and body by Calderon, leading to his demise.

Afterward, he aimed the firearm at Bolivar Rodriguez, a 61-year-old Amityville resident, and owner of the deli, firing a single shot that fatally wounded him in the head.

Investigators reported that Calderon kept shooting his firearm and as a result, two additional customers, 40-year-old Daniel Acosta, who was hit in the torso, and 30-year-old Juan Avila Roque, who was shot in the chest and left arm, were injured. The two victims were admitted to the hospital and remained there for nearly two weeks.

According to the prosecutors, the high-definition surveillance video of the deli recorded the shooting.

Prosecutors stated that Calderon was apprehended a few hours after the shooting while attempting to exit his residence. As stated by officers, he had cash, jewelry, and a suitcase containing clothing. Additionally, he was seen wearing the same sweatshirt that was verified to have gunshot residue.

Upon additional inspection of his residence, law enforcement officers discovered the 9 mm handgun employed in the shooting incidents concealed on his premises.

Calderon appeared in court and confessed to firing at the victims, although he argued that he had been coerced. During questioning by the opposite party, he declared that he had procured the firearm unlawfully from an unknown source, and recognized that none of the other people in the deli possessed arms.

In a statement, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney expressed that it is difficult to fully comprehend the fear experienced by the victims when the defendant initiated the shooting.

The punishment given to him for his offenses is appropriate, and from now on he will have to face the repercussions of his heartless deeds throughout his life in prison.

Calderon was found guilty by a jury on Feb. 9, for the following felonies: second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, two counts of second-degree attempted murder, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

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