Defendant Was Apprehended in Ohio Seven Months after Shooting and Killing 23-year-old Jeffery Lee
A Hempstead man pleaded guilty to shooting and killing a Roosevelt man in broad daylight in October 2018.
Savonn Dangerfield, 27, pleaded guilty before Judge Meryl Berkowitz on March 7, 2024 to second-degree murder (a Class A-I felony) and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon (a Class C violent felony).
On October 12, 2018, at approximately 12:07 p.m., the victim, 23-year-old Jeffrey Lee of Roosevelt, was walking with his girlfriend on Dartmouth Street in Hempstead when he was approached by Dangerfield at the intersection of Stewart Avenue and shot three times. Lee was later transported to NYU Langone Hospital Long Island, where he was pronounced dead.
Multiple shell cases belonging to a 9mm semi-automatic pistol were recovered at the scene. Following an investigation, Dangerfield was arrested on May 13, 2019, by police in Steubenville, Ohio, and later extradited to Nassau County.
Dangerfield is due back in court on May 2, 2024, and is expected to be sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office recommended a sentence of 22 years to life in prison.
“This defendant brutally gunned down an unarmed 23-year-old man out for a walk with his girlfriend because of a perceived dispute,” said Nassau County DA Anne Donnelly. “After the shooting, Savonn Dangerfield fled, trying to run as far away as possible from the murder he committed. He couldn’t outrun authorities, however, and was apprehended in Ohio and sent back to Nassau County to face judgment for his violent crimes. With today’s plea, this defendant admits to ruthlessly taking Jeffrey Lee’s life, and will be held accountable with significant prison time when he is sentenced.”