Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Hempstead man pleaded guilty yesterday to murder for the shooting death of a 25-year-old man in Hempstead in May 2021.
Ryan Hamilton, 24, pleaded guilty Thursday before Judge Teresa Corrigan to Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony) and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C violent felony). The defendant is due back in court on March 18, 2024, where he is expected to be sentenced to 19 years to life in prison. NCDA recommended a sentence of 22 years to life in prison.
“This defendant brutally gunned down Trendabi Reid during an altercation at a backyard gathering in Hempstead,” said DA Donnelly. “Gun violence continues to plague our communities, but NCDA remains committed to removing dangerous criminals from our streets and ensuring they are held accountable for their crimes.”
DA Donnelly said, according to the charges, on May 7, 2021, at approximately 5:30 p.m. in the rear yard of 21 James LL Burrell Avenue in Hempstead, Ryan Hamilton was socializing with several other individuals. The defendant was in possession of a firearm that he was cleaning.
When 25-year-old victim Trendabi Reid arrived at the home, he and another individual began arguing about a debt. The fight escalated and the pair began pushing and shoving one another.
Ryan Hamilton, who had not been involved in the altercation, approached the victim, and fired a single round from a .9mm firearm, striking Reid in the face and causing his death. Hamilton then fled the yard.
The firearm was recovered later that evening in a vacant lot approximately two blocks away from where the incident took place.
Hamilton was arrested by Detectives with the Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad on June 23, 2021, in Waterbury, Connecticut.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Ania Pulaski of the Homicide Bureau. Hamilton is represented by Andrew Monteleone, Esq.
