By Daniel Katzive
A judge has handed down a long sentence for the man convicted of murdering 74-year-old Maria Hernandez in her Upper West Side apartment three years ago.
State Supreme Court Judge Felicia Menin sentenced 51-year-old Lashawn Mackey to 35 years to life in state prison on Tuesday. Mackey was convicted by a jury of murder, burglary, sexual abuse, robbery and felony murder charges on May 19. The 10-year sentence for one of the burglary counts was set to run consecutively with the 25-to-life sentence for the primary charge of murder, while the charges for the other crimes will run concurrently, which means Mackey would be at least 86 years old before he might leave prison.
Mackey has continued to maintain his innocence and told the judge before receiving his sentence, “I’m innocent. I did not do the crime.” But Judge Menin called the evidence against Mackey “beyond compelling” and “overwhelming” and described the crime as a planned and predatory attack.
In a lengthy statement, the judge spoke of the depravity of the attack and the impact on the victim’s sister and three daughters, all of whom attended the trial either as witnesses or observers and delivered emotional statements ahead of the hearing on Tuesday.
Judge Menin also spoke of an apparent absence of sympathy on Mackey’s part. The judge noted in particular video evidence introduced at the trial showing Mackey and his now-deceased co-defendant sharing what appeared to be a celebratory hug after the crime.
Prosecutors had sought a longer 55-years-to-life sentence, while Mackey’s defense attorney asked the judge not to impose what would clearly be a life sentence, noting that even a 25-years-to-life term would mean that Mackey, who had already served more than half of his life behind bars for prior convictions, would very likely die in custody. She said Mackey would be appealing his conviction.
In a statement shared with West Side Rag, District Attorney Alvin Bragg said following the sentencing, “Since Ms. Hernandez’s killing, her family has endured unimaginable grief and loss and, while we cannot undo this tragedy, I hope today’s outcome brings them comfort in knowing the defendant has been held accountable.”
For more on the case and trial, please see our story from May 20, 2026.
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A disgusting, depraved individual. May the crime he committed against Maria Hernandez haunt him for the rest of his miserable life.
Odds are it won’t….”I’m innocent. I did not do the crime.”
But we sure will be feeding him…
You guys are never satisfied. This guy is caught, convicted and sentenced for effectively the rest of his life and you’re complaining he won’t be starved to death? For all the baseless complaining about Bragg every time a crime occurs, you could at least acknowledge when they get it right.
UWS Dad,
Incarceration means 1) a legal punishment for committing the crime 2) a perpetrator is off the streets and 3) ideally there is opportunity for the perpetrator to have access to services such as drug rehab or literacy etc.
Depending on the situation, people sometimes have different opinions about what are proper consequences.
As a parent, I would have zero sympathy for a person who physically abused a child or committed a sex crime.
Yet I’d have sympathy for a 19 year old who, caught up in gang, committed a homicide.
Perhaps you’d seek the longest sentence for a drunk driver who killed a pedestrian but lesser for another crime that resulted in a death.
I’m just curious – who are “you, guys” you are referring to?
I definitely don’t have starvation in mind. I think I know what justice should look like if this was my mother or grandmother. But you seem either incapable or unwilling to acknowledge that.
Here, for your record: Bragg got it right under the law. The law, for cases like this, is absurdly lax.
Just stop. We’ve had decades of experience with the death penalty in this country. We know it is no more of a deterrent than a lengthy prison sentence. We know that it costs taxpayers more than life in prison. We know that it is applied inconsistently, so that like crimes are treated differently, even in the same state.
Your outrage is understandable. I share it. But your call for blood moves us backward, not forward, and, in the end, helps no one.
This murder still haunts me.
And some congressional nominees want to abolish jails?
I only know of one. And that particular nominee has no business being anywhere near public office.
She doesn’t. But she isn’t the only one
I didn’t realize there was also sexual abuse. How much more depraved can this person be – to torture, sexually abuse, and kill an innocent elderly woman?
Also, is there any information on how the management company vetted and hired this person? Aren’t they responsible as well?
Someone has to investigate How he was hired !!!!
The management company never checked out or vetted his past since he had just gotten out of jail after 17 years for murder. Yet they hired him as a temporary super. To this day, the management still looks the other way. Sadly the apartment building has got much worse & unsafe for the people who live there.
I believe it was first-degree assault, not murder.
I was talking about how he was in jail once before for 17 years for murder & then was hired as a temporary super & then killed once again!
Has their role in this even been questioned? Of course they won’t volunteer to cooperate.
How could free hire a murderer and give him access to the apartments?
They did not seem to vet the people they hired or rented to this day,
Why can’t he receive the death penalty? It’s seems he should.
Because capital punishment is not legal in New York State.
Because we don’t want to be like him – to take a life – however depraved he might be.
False equivalent. We live by the social contract, he does not and deserves none of it’s benefits.
NYS does not have the death penalty. But in this case it seems it would not be out of place.
The death penalty was abolished in NY in 2004.
By the last Republican govenor.
Federal convictions can lead to death penalty. But NY State cases do not have that option; New York does not have the death penalty according to Death Penalty Information Center.
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state
I get no satisfaction from saying it, but…sometimes the incapacitation rationale for imprisonment has real force. Not often, but certainly here. I’m not sure what happened to Mackey to make him what he is, but I’m sure it was awful. At a certain point, though, that becomes irrelevant to the question of whether he can be on the streets.
Sarah,
Let’s not step in the direction of justifying Mackey’s behavior.
Are you sure something terrible happened to him? Why? Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t.
The celebratory hug with his accomplice right after the murder shows no remorse whatsoever. At the very least, this doesn’t look like an impulsive act.
I am perfectly capable of recognizing both that someone has done something unforgivable and that most of our fellow human beings who do such things have also had terrible experiences. These are separate aspects of analysis. I know it’s much easier to pretend that they are just monsters who sprung up fully formed from the earth, but that both degrades your own soul and lets the work of making them go on unnoticed and unchecked.
Impulsive act! Makeys was hired as a temporary super & put in a new front door lock in the woman’s home & kept one of her keys & came back weeks later & murdered hog-tied & gagged her & raped her. He planned the murder. You lack any knowledge to say it does not seem to be an impulsive act or not?
He did not say it was an impulsive act.
Correct, but did say it does not seem. Which raises some doubt,
This is a death penalty level crime in my eyes. Sadly we don’t do that anymore. This is the next best thing, I suppose.
Yes the Overton Window closed on the death penalty about 20 years ago it seems.
Kudos to Judge Menin! But she could have made it life without parole.
Agreed. He will most likely die in prison, then he will meet his maker.
I frequently complain about Bragg and his tendency towards ignoring crime and/or leniency. Kudos to him for getting the job done here. A longer sentence would be preferred but this is good enough. Thank you. Too many people see everything as all good or all bad – it is only fair to commend people for a job well done.
We have to find a way to reintegrate felons into society but in ways that teach and reward adhering to the rules of society. Not everyone will be able to do it but what we do now is crazy. A guy like this, with this history, has access to people’s apartments. Poor Mrs Hernandez and her family. Shame on whoever was involved in this placement. You are complicit with this crime even if you can hide behind the veil of justice served equity.
Yes, they can hide & did hide, and still hide. A CHURCH owned the Building.