MINEOLA, NY — A Hempstead man will spend 24 years to life in prison after being convicted of robbing and fatally shooting a man who was asleep in his car, Nassau County prosecutors announced.
Kadeem Lewis, 31, was sentenced after being found guilty of second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, and second-degree robbery for the death of 33-year-old Jose Sanchez-Velasquez in 2019. Judge Robert Bogle delivered the sentence following Lewis’s conviction in October.
The incident occurred in the early morning hours of November 25, 2019, when Lewis and an accomplice were searching for a home to burglarize. Instead, they encountered Sanchez-Velasquez, who was asleep in his car with the engine running. After stealing several cell phones and pulling Sanchez-Velasquez from the vehicle, Lewis shot him in the chest when the victim attempted to call for help.
Lewis was connected to the crime through DNA evidence found on a ski mask and stolen cell phones. He was arrested in February 2020. Nassau County prosecutors expressed their hope that the sentence provides closure to Sanchez-Velasquez’s family.