Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced a Hewlett man was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison for the murder of a 49-year-old man in Hempstead in June 2020.
Keith Pooler, 56, was convicted on May 13, 2022, after a jury trial before Judge Howard Sturim, of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony) and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree (a D felony). Pooler was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison.
“Keith Pooler senselessly took Andre Garry’s life during a street corner fight, driving a steak knife into the victim’s heart,” said DA Donnelly. “With today’s jail sentence, Pooler will pay for this terrible crime and his violence will no longer be a threat to the Hempstead community.”
District Attorney Donnelly said on June 28, 2020, at approximately 9:00 p.m. on the corner of Terrace and Fulton Avenues, the defendant had a verbal altercation with 49-year-old Andre Garry. As the argument continued, the defendant pulled out a steak knife with an approximately 5-inch blade and stabbed Garry in the heart. The victim collapsed and Pooler fled the scene.
Garry was transported to NYU Langone Hospital Long Island (Winthrop) where he was pronounced deceased.
The murder weapon was recovered nearby by police less than twenty minutes after the incident.
Pooler was arrested in Hewlett by detectives of the Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad on July 11, 2020.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Michelle Lewisohn of the Homicide Bureau. The defendant is represented by Christopher Graziano, Esq.
