Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Roosevelt man was sentenced on Monday to 25 years to life in prison for robbing and assaulting a gas station attendant in 2018.
Vernon Lowe, 56, was convicted in a jury trial on September 26, 2022, before Judge Fran Ricigliano, of three counts of Assault in the First Degree (a B violent felony); two counts of Robbery in the First Degree (a B violent felony); one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree (a D felony); Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree (an E felony); and Resisting Arrest (an A misdemeanor). The trial began on September 12 and lasted approximately two weeks.
The defendant, as a mandatory persistent violent felony offender, was sentenced on Monday by Judge Ricigliano to 25 years to life in prison. Lowe was previously convicted of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony) in 1994.
“A hardworking immigrant employed at a gas station was repeatedly harassed by defendant Vernon Lowe while trying to help customers,” DA Donnelly said. “In order to diffuse the situation, the victim gave the defendant $10 to leave the business, but was later brutally beaten by Lowe with a metal tool in the face. I thank the police department and our prosecutors for bringing this repeat violent felony offender to justice.”
DA Donnelly said that on the evening November 29, 2018, Vernon Lowe arrived on a bicycle at the Sunoco gas station on Nassau Road in Roosevelt. The defendant went into and out of the gas station convenience store and approached the victim and other customers. As the gas station attendant was making change for a customer, Lowe struck the attendant in the face with a pair of metal vice grips, which caused the man to fall down and strike the back of his head on the pavement. The defendant stole money from the victim and left the scene on a bicycle.
The victim suffered a broken nose, several broken teeth, and lacerations to the face.
Lowe was arrested approximately 25 minutes after the incident by members of the Nassau County Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Rachael Whalen and Assistant District Attorney Ryan Nelson. The defendant was represented by Joseph LoPiccolo, Esq.
