QUEENS, NY – Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz has announced the sentencing of Dennis Vassilenko, a reputed member of the Crips 8 Trey gang, to 20 years to life in prison for the 2021 murder of 17-year-old Eduardo Hernandez-Martinez. The sentencing follows a jury trial where Vassilenko was convicted of second-degree murder for the shooting, which took place in front of a Corona barbershop.
The incident occurred on July 7, 2021, when Hernandez-Martinez met with Vassilenko to sell marijuana. According to court records, video surveillance captured Vassilenko leading the victim from a smoke shop to the location of the shooting. Vassilenko then fatally shot Hernandez-Martinez at point-blank range while the latter held a bag of marijuana. Following the shooting, Vassilenko fled in a getaway car driven by co-defendant Stephanie Pena.
Pena, who was implicated as an accessory, pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution and was sentenced in June 2022 to one to three years in prison.
District Attorney Katz emphasized the sentence as a commitment to removing guns from the streets and prosecuting criminal elements, expressing hope that the verdict brings some solace to the victim’s family. Vassilenko, also accused of violent behavior in Rikers Island, was sentenced by Justice Kenneth Holder.