North Carolina man convicted of murder in 2021 Hempstead shooting

A North Carolina man was convicted on June 28 for murdering a 40-year-old man in Hempstead outside of his home in January 2021.

Ruben Diego Avila Huicab, 33, was convicted after a jury trial of murder in the second degree and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

The trial began on June 13 and Huicab is due back for sentencing on August 22 and faces a potential maximum of 40 years to life in prison.

Avila Huicab planned and carried out the murder of Ricardo Cardona, 40, because of a work dispute. According to trial testimony, Huicab and a then 16-year-old also on trial both drove in separate vehicles to the intersection of Dakota Place and Vermont Avenue in Hempstead where Cardona, lived.

Avila Huicab, and Cardo had an ongoing dispute over payment for construction work that Cardona had performed for Avila Huicab and work tools he had not returned.

On the night of the murder, Avila Huicab provided the teen with a semi-automatic pistol and told him to wait in his van, which the teen was driving, while he contacted Cardona and convinced him to come outside to the vehicle.

When Cardona approached the van, the teenager fired at Cardona seven times, striking him five times, including in his neck and chest. Police arrived at Dakota Place and found Cardona dead.

Avila Huicab and the other man were arrested in Maryland by local authorities in 2021.

"This defendant orchestrated the murder of Ricardo Cardona, repeatedly threatening to kill the victim over the course of two weeks, even texting Ricardo on the day of his murder to 'say your goodbyes to everyone,'" Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a news release. "Ricardo held onto the defendant's tools to ensure he received pay that he was owed, and he was senselessly murdered for it. I thank the jury for their service and for finding the defendant responsible for committing this heinous crime."