Nassau DA: Life Sentences Handed Down to Two Roosevelt Men for Murderous 2015-2016 Crime Spree
April 16, 2019 - Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that two Roosevelt men were sentenced yesterday for a murderous robbery spree that left two men dead. Corey Williams was sentenced to 100 years to life in prison and Malique Shelton was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison by Judge Meryl Berkowitz.
Corey Williams, 19, was convicted by a jury before Judge Meryl Berkowitz on November 5, 2018 of:
- Two counts of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony)
- Attempted Murder in the Second Degree (a B violent felony)
- Three counts of Robbery in the First Degree (a B violent felony)
- Two counts of Robbery in the Second Degree (a C violent felony)
- Attempted Robbery in the First Degree (a C violent felony)
- Six counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C felony)
- Assault in the Second Degree (a D violent felony)
- Attempted Robbery in the Second Degree (a D violent felony)
The four-week trial started on October 9, and the jury deliberated for less than a day.
Malique Shelton, 19, pled guilty on May 23, 2018 before Judge Meryl Berkowitz to two counts of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony).
“These defendants robbed and murdered two innocent men in cold blood on a ruthlessly violent crime spree that terrorized the Roosevelt community,” DA Singas said. “Predators like Williams and Shelton belong behind bars, and they deserve every day of the long prison sentences they received today.”
DA Singas said that on November 18, 2015, at approximately 6:30 p.m., 33-year-old Gerber Hernandez was walking home from his job as a construction worker on Babylon Turnpike in Roosevelt, when Williams and Shelton, both on bicycles, attempted to rob Hernandez of cash and then shot him two times, once through the aorta. Hernandez was attended to by a Good Samaritan who stayed with him until police and EMT’s arrived. The victim died from his wounds and left behind a son.
At approximately 3:50 p.m. on June 22, 2016, the defendants and another accomplice, while inside an unoccupied home under construction on Wagner Street in Roosevelt, robbed 37-year-old Royston Hall of marijuana, and then shot him once in the chest. To escape the house, Hall jumped out of a closed, glass window and ran down the street bleeding and shoeless while holding his chest. Hall, a father of two, was eventually transported to the Nassau University Medical Center where he died.
On July 8, 2016, at approximately 1:50 a.m., Williams called a taxi to Willet Place in Roosevelt. When the taxi arrived, he and an accomplice robbed the 46-year old driver at gunpoint, stealing approximately $200 in cash.
On July 18, 2016, at approximately 11 p.m. Williams called a taxi to W. Raymond Street in Roosevelt. When the taxi arrived, he shot the driver in the upper back, seriously injuring him and then stole approximately $120 in cash. The victim was transported to Nassau University Medical Center and eventually recovered from his injuries.
Following an investigation, Nassau County Police Department detectives arrested Williams on August 31, 2016 and Shelton on January 18, 2017.
Senior District Attorney Ania Pulaski of DA Singas’ Major Offense Bureau is prosecuting this case. Steven Barnwell, Esq. represents Shelton and Jeff Groder, Esq. represents Williams.