A Hempstead man was convicted for the November 2019 robbery and murder of a man who was sleeping in his car.
On November 25, 2019, at approximately 2:19 a.m., Kadeem Lewis and a co-defendant were walking around Hempstead looking for a house to burglarize. The two defendants encountered 33-year-old Jose Sanchez-Velasquez sleeping in the front seat of his vehicle with the engine running and the lights on.
Lewis approached the driver’s side of the vehicle while his co-defendant opened the front passenger-side door and removed several cell phones. Lewis’ co-defendant then removed Sanchez-Velasquez from his vehicle. The victim screamed, and Lewis fired a single fatal gunshot into Sanchez-Velasquez’s chest. Lewis and his co-defendant then fled the scene, dropping two of the cellphones taken from the victim in a neighboring backyard.
Approximately one month later, on December 21, 2019, Lewis was involved in an incident at a residence on Alan Street in Hempstead wearing a ski mask. During the incident, Lewis fled the scene, dropping his cellphone inside the residence. Blocks away from the scene, police found a ski mask and a wallet that was taken from the Alan Street home. DNA samples taken from the ski mask and the cellphones recovered near the scene of the murder were both a match to Lewis.
Lewis was arrested on February 6, 2020, by members of the Nassau County Police Department. The trial began on October 8, 2024, and the jury deliberated for five days before delivering their verdict. Lewis, 31, was convicted on October 31 before Judge Robert Bogle of Murder in the Second Degree (a Class A-I felony), Robbery in the First Degree (a Class B violent felony), and Robbery in the Second Degree (a Class C violent felony).
Lewis is due back for sentencing on December 16, 2024, and faces a potential maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
“Kadeem Lewis targeted a man asleep in his car, robbed him, and tragically ended Jose Sanchez-Velasquez’s life in the process,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. “No one in Nassau County should ever have to fear they’ll become the victim of a violent assault simply sitting in their vehicle. I thank the jury for their service and their decision to convict this dangerous defendant.”