Adam Beniquez

Case overview

Adam Jorge Beniquez (1968 - ) was arrested in Brooklyn on February 23, 1991 for murder. He was tied to the murders of three police officers in the Caribbean and was linked to additional killings.

He was convicted on four counts, including manslaughter and murder, and sentenced to 25 years to life. He entered prison on April 7, 1992.

Timeline

• February 23, 1991 — Adam Jorge Beniquez was arrested in Brooklyn.
• January 10 — Daniel Valentine, 23, was found shot once in the chest in his apartment at 293 Troutman Street.
• Jan. 27 — Police Officer Dexter Mardenborough, 22, was struck in the head by a bullet after he went to investigate a shooting involving three men outside a discotheque.
• Sept. 6 — Jose Bernabe Gonzalez, 33, and Pedro Sanchez Lopez, 27, were police officers ambushed and shot to death after chasing suspects in a stolen car to the Rio Piedras section of San Juan.
• Nov. 15, 1990 — Three men were shot in a car in St. Thomas.
• Feb. 15, 1990 — A man was shot in Puerto Rico.
• April 7, 1992 — Beniquez entered prison after sentencing.
• March 30, 1993 — Supreme Court, Kings County (Lipp, J.) rendered a judgment under Indictment No. 2395/91 convicting him of manslaughter in the first degree after a plea of guilty.
• June 21, 1999 — The appellate court proceeding in People v. Beniquez was argued.
• December 13, 1999 — The appellate court issued its opinion in People v. Beniquez (N.Y. App. Div. 12/13/1999).
• June 23, 1997 — Supreme Court (Aiello, J.) rendered a judgment under Indictment No. 2422/91 convicting him on multiple counts after a jury verdict.

Background

Adam Jorge Beniquez was described as a “most wanted man in Puerto Rico.” A detective called him the “most wanted” man in Puerto Rico. A police detective in Puerto Rico, Jose Rodriguez, said Beniquez had become the “most wanted man in Puerto Rico today.”

Law-enforcement officials said they had received tips connecting him to an area in Bushwick. Detectives began looking for Beniquez after authorities in Puerto Rico called to say they had received tips that he was in a particular area of Bushwick.

The offence

Killings and attempted murders connected by police

The police said Beniquez was a “strong suspect” in a total of nine slayings: three in Puerto Rico, four in the Virgin Islands, and two in Brooklyn. Police also said he was linked to two attempted murders in Puerto Rico.

The Brooklyn investigation connected him, after his arrest, to the killing of a jewelry store manager and to additional killings being investigated at the time.

Jewelry store manager killing in Bushwick

Luis Medina, a 29-year-old jewelry store manager, was shot three times. His body was found stuffed in a closet in the rear of his store at 181 Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick. Police discovered jewelry that led them to connect Beniquez with Medina’s killing.

Second Brooklyn case investigated

Investigators conducted lineups to determine whether they could connect Beniquez to the slaying of Daniel Valentine, a 23-year-old man, who was found shot once in the chest in his apartment at 293 Troutman Street on Jan. 10.

Investigation

Police said their lineups and investigative steps were part of efforts to connect Beniquez to additional killings and to determine details among the cases.

The medical examiner’s office conducted an autopsy to determine whether the bullets that killed Luis Medina matched those from the gun the police said they took from Beniquez.

Sergeant Nick Vreeland said the police had not established a clear link among all the killings and were trying to determine whether drugs or smuggling might be involved.

“He's vicious, but I don't think it's just a random thing,” he said.

Arrest

Beniquez was picked up on Saturday night in a grocery store at 147 Wilson Avenue in Bushwick. Officer Scott Bloch said Beniquez was carrying a 9-milimeter Uzi semiautomatic weapon loaded with a 30-round clip.

The address in New York was not known on the night of his arrest.

Officers from the 83d Precinct began stakeouts in the area of Bushwick. A spokesman for the New York City police, Officer Scott Bloch, said: “We're very glad this person has been taken off the street.”

“We're very glad this person has been taken off the street.”

Police said they had been told about warrants for Beniquez’s arrest in connection with slayings and attempted murders in Puerto Rico.

Legal proceedings

Charges, convictions, and sentencing (Indictment No. 2395/91)

Beniquez pleaded guilty and was convicted of manslaughter in the first degree under Indictment No. 2395/91.

Supreme Court, Kings County (Lipp, J.) rendered a judgment on March 30, 1993. The judgment sentenced him to an indeterminate term of 6 to 18 years imprisonment.

Charges, convictions, and sentencing (Indictment No. 2422/91)

After a jury verdict, Supreme Court (Aiello, J.) rendered a judgment on June 23, 1997 under Indictment No. 2422/91.

He was convicted of:

• murder in the second degree
• robbery in the first degree
• criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree

The judgment sentenced him to indeterminate terms of imprisonment of:

• 25 years to life for murder in the second degree
• 12 1/2 to 25 years for robbery in the first degree
• 7 1/2 to 15 years for criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree

The terms were ordered to run concurrently with each other but consecutively to the sentence imposed under Indictment No. 2395/91 (manslaughter in the first degree).

The appellate decision later modified the judgment as described below.

Appeal: People v. Beniquez (N.Y. App. Div. 12/13/1999)

People v. Beniquez (N.Y. App. Div. 12/13/1999) was filed with:

• THE PEOPLE, ETC., RESPONDENT,
• v.
• ADAM JORGE BENIQUEZ, APPELLANT.

Counsel listed:

• Richard L. Herzfeld, New York, N.Y., for appellant.
• Charles J. Hynes, District Attorney, Brooklyn, N.Y. (with Roseann B. MacKechnie, Ann Bordley, and Joseph Huttler of counsel), for respondent.

The opinion was delivered by Per Curiam. The appeal was argued June 21, 1999. The opinion was issued December 13, 1999.

The appellate court addressed multiple issues and concluded:

• “the judgment under Indictment No. 2395/91 is affirmed”
• 2422/91 was “modified, as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, by providing that the terms of imprisonment imposed run concurrently with the term of imprisonment imposed under Indictment No. 2395/91; as so modified, the judgment is affirmed.”

The opinion also stated that the defendant’s claim regarding jury inquiry of an allegedly unqualified prospective juror was “unpreserved for appellate review (see, People v Fridic, 222 AD2d 220).” It further stated the record supported dismissing the prospective juror, whose comments indicated she was overly concerned with physical evidence and who believed “word of mouth is not proof.”

We find that the sentence imposed under Indictment No. 2422/91 is excessive to the extent indicated.

Prospective juror comments quoted in the appellate decision

The appellate decision quoted the prospective juror’s statement: “word of mouth is not proof”.

Other killings linked by police

Police officers ambushed after chasing suspects in a stolen car

The police said a warrant from Puerto Rico cited the slaying on Sept. 6 of Jose Bernabe Gonzalez, 33, and Pedro Sanchez Lopez, 27, two police officers. They were ambushed and shot to death after chasing several suspects in a stolen car to the Rio Piedras section of San Juan.

Police officer shooting outside a discotheque in St. Croix

The other slaying of a police officer occurred on Jan. 27 in St. Croix. Officer Dexter Mardenborough, 22, was struck in the head by a bullet after he went to investigate a shooting involving three men outside a discotheque.

Additional killings cited

The other killings included:

• a man shot in Puerto Rico on Feb. 15, 1990
• three men shot in a car in St. Thomas on Nov. 15, 1990

Police said they did not have details on the two attempted murders in Puerto Rico.

Other people mentioned

Carlos Madrid, charged in the jewelry store killing

The police arrested a second suspect Saturday in the jewelry store robbery: Carlos Madrid, 20, of 444 Suydam Avenue. He was charged with the manager’s murder.

José Rodriguez

Reporting officials and roles

Officer Scott Bloch was identified as a spokesman for the New York City police. Sgt. Nick Vreeland was identified as another police spokesman.

Aftermath

The appellate court’s order resulted in modification of the terms so that the terms of imprisonment imposed under Indictment No. 2422/91 would run concurrently with the term of imprisonment imposed under Indictment No. 2395/91.

Disposition

Beniquez was convicted of manslaughter in the first degree under Indictment No. 2395/91 following his guilty plea and was convicted of murder in the second degree, robbery in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree under Indictment No. 2422/91 following a jury verdict. The appellate court affirmed the judgment under Indictment No. 2395/91 and modified the judgment under Indictment No. 2422/91 to provide concurrent running with the sentence under Indictment No. 2395/91.