MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a jury found a Hempstead man guilty yesterday of attempted murder in a 2015 incident in which the defendant fired a gun at the victim outside of Uniondale Park, permanently injuring the teenage victim.
Manuel Sosa-Marquez, 24, was convicted of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree (a B violent felony), Assault in the First Degree (a B violent felony), Criminal Use of a Firearm in the First Degree (a B violent felony) and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C felony). The trial before Judge Angelo Delligatti lasted for five days and the jury deliberated for three hours. The defendant is due back in court on November 16 for sentencing and faces five to 25 years in prison.
“The cold-blooded shooting by this Salvadorians with Pride gang member left a 14-year old boy permanently paralyzed, and illustrates the horrific and senseless violence perpetrated by the gangs that we are working diligently to dismantle,” DA Singas said. “No sentence will restore this young boy’s health but I hope this conviction gives him and his family some sense of justice, and sends a message to would-be gang members their brutality will be met with harsh consequences.”
DA Singas said on August 6, 2015, at approximately 11:50am, the 14-year-old male victim was riding his bicycle on Argyle Avenue and Davis Street in Uniondale to meet friends inside of Uniondale Park. At the same time, Sosa-Marquez pulled up on the opposite side of the street in a Blue Honda Civic and fired three shots at the victim, striking him once in the upper torso. Shell casings were found at the scene and a bullet was removed from the victim’s spine. The pistol used in the shooting was never recovered.
The gunshot wound left the victim, now 17-years-old, a quadriplegic. A doctor testified that he is never going to walk again and will eventually die from complications related to the gunshot wound. The victim, who was an avid soccer player, is currently living in a nursing home upstate and has limited use of one arm.
Sosa-Marquez is a member of the Salvadorians With Pride (SWP) street gang.
Assistant District Attorney Brittany Gurrieri of DA Singas’ Special Operations, Narcotics and Gangs Unit and Assistant District Attorney Charles Dunn of DA Singas’ County Court Trial Bureau are prosecuting this case. The defendant is represented by Brian Carmody, Esq.
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