Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that an Elmhurst man was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for the shooting of a retail clerk at an Oceanside smoke shop during an attempted robbery in March 2022.
Yunus Irwan, 21, pleaded guilty on March 4, 2024, to Attempted Murder in the Second Degree (a B violent felony). The defendant was sentenced today before Judge Tammy Robbins to 12 years in prison and five years’ post release supervision. NCDA recommended a sentence of 17 years in prison.
“During a botched robbery attempt, this defendant pulled a gun and fired point-blank into a store clerk’s chest, nearly killing him,” said DA Donnelly. “The employee was hospitalized for several weeks and underwent multiple surgeries, removing a piece of his lung which continues to impact his ability to breathe. I thank the detectives of the 4th Precinct Squad for their dogged investigative work that led to this defendant’s arrest, and my prosecutors for securing today’s prison sentence.”
DA Donnelly said, according to the charges, on March 6, 2022, at approximately 3:19 p.m., the defendant entered “Da Smoke Spot” at 230 Merrick Road in Oceanside intending to rob the store.
The defendant approached the store clerk and engaged him in conversation.
The clerk then walked toward the back of the store and the defendant followed him, pulling out a semi-automatic firearm. When the clerk turned around, the defendant shot him multiple times.
The victim was shot in the chest and hand and suffered extensive physical injuries, including damage to his lung that required a piece of his lung to be removed and permanent mobility loss in his left hand. He was hospitalized for approximately three weeks recovering from the shooting and requires ongoing medical treatment for his injuries.
While fleeing the store after the shooting, the defendant touched a glass display case leaving behind a fingerprint which later helped to identify him as the shooter.
A co-defendant, Jennifer Crespin-Gomes, 22, of Astoria, Queens, previously pleaded guilty to Assault in the First Degree on December 12, 2022, and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Irwan was arrested by Detectives of the Nassau County Police Department’s 4th Precinct Squad on April 10, 2023.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Joseph Grasso of the County Court Bureau. Irwan is represented by Joseph Lo Piccolo, Esq.
