Mineola, NY - December 14, 2018 - Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a Queens man was sentenced today to 17 years to life for the fatal shooting and robbery of a man in Freeport in 2011.
Jerod Plowden, 31, was convicted on October 19 by a jury in front of Judge Patricia Harrington of:
- Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony)
- Two counts of Robbery in the First degree (a B violent felony)
- Robbery in the Second Degree (a C violent felony)
“Moez Hassan’s death was nothing short of an execution,” DA Singas said. “Jerod Plowden heartlessly shot this young man several times at point-blank-range, taking the life of a son, brother and uncle from his devoted and loving family. We hope today’s sentence brings them some comfort.”
DA Singas said that on April 12, 2011, at approximately 1:35 p.m., Plowden and another man, Nolan Gaugler, met with the victim, Moez Hassan, outside of an abandoned house on Steven Street in Freeport under the pretense of buying Xanax pills from him. Before the transaction could take place, however, Plowden and Gaugler robbed the victim of 75 Xanax pills and approximately $30 at gunpoint.
Hassan, 23, of Queens, was then shot five times, once in the head, chest, and left arm, and twice in the abdomen. The Nassau County Police Department’s ShotSpotter system picked up the sound of the gunshots and automatically alerted police to the area. Gaugler ran away and was caught within minutes by police several blocks from the scene of the murder, still in possession of the stolen drugs and cash.
Plowden, who fled through the backyard, was arrested 16 days later in Suffolk County after the vehicle in which he was a passenger was pulled over in a routine traffic stop. Gaugler, of Mineola, pleaded guilty to Robbery in the First Degree in exchange for a promised prison sentence of 16 years.
Deputy Chief Jessica Cepriano and Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Shumejda of DA Singas’ County Court Trial Bureau are prosecuting the case. Mitchell Barnett, Esq., represents the defendant.