Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a former supermarket employee was sentenced today to 50 years to life in prison for the murder of a supervisor and attempted murder of two other coworkers at a West Hempstead Stop and Shop store in April 2021.
Gabriel DeWitt Wilson, 33, of Hempstead, was convicted by a jury on May 3, 2023, of one count of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony), two counts of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree (a B violent felony), two counts of Assault in the First Degree (a B violent felony), and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C violent felony).
The defendant was acquitted of two counts of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree.
He was sentenced today before Judge Helene Gugerty to 50 years to life in prison.
“Gabriel Wilson intended to cause death and destruction when he entered a West Hempstead Stop and Shop with a semi-automatic gun on April 20, 2021,” said DA Donnelly. “Wilson methodically entered office after office on the second floor of the grocery store, shooting his coworkers without hesitation. Sadly, 49-year-old Ray Wishropp was shot directly in the chest at point-blank range and killed, while two other employees were seriously injured, but escaped. This defendant showed no contrition or remorse since he was apprehended or throughout the duration of his trial. I am pleased that this very dangerous individual will now likely spend the rest of his life in a prison cell. We hope that this sentence provides some measure of justice for Ray’s family, friends, and coworkers still mourning his tragic loss.”
DA Donnelly said that, according to the trial testimony, on April 20, 2021, at approximately 11:19 a.m., Wilson, an employee of the Stop and Shop Grocery Store at 50 Cherry Valley Avenue in West Hempstead, entered the store and went to the second floor, where the manager offices were located. The defendant was not scheduled to work at that time. Wilson then entered the store manager’s office where he shot one victim in the face and twice in the chest area. He then shot a female manager, hitting her in the shoulder, with the bullet exiting her back. Wilson then entered a second office where he fired multiple rounds and struck 49-year-old Ray Wishropp in the chest and leg. Wishropp was pronounced dead at the scene.
The defendant was arrested at approximately 3:50 p.m. in Hempstead by members of the Nassau County Police Department’s Bureau of Special Operations and the Hempstead Police Department.
Chief Jared Rosenblatt and Senior Litigation Counsel Stefanie Palma of the Homicide Bureau are prosecuting the case. The defendant is represented by Brian J. Carmody, Esq.
