Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that an undomiciled man was sentenced today to more than 20 years in prison for a March 2023 machete attack inside of a 24-hour laundromat in Valley Stream that left a man dead.
Roberto Velasquez, 32, pleaded guilty on January 31, 2024, before Judge Helene Gugerty to Manslaughter in the First Degree (a B felony). He was sentenced today to 21-1/2 years in prison.
“Roberto Velasquez’s violent outburst nearly a year ago to the day cost Michael Oliver his life,” said DA Donnelly. “Michael fought for 10 days in the hospital, and despite the extraordinary efforts of medical staff, he succumbed to his extensive injuries. Velasquez will now serve decades in prison paying for his appalling crime.”
DA Donnelly said, according to the charges, at approximately 2:10 a.m. on March 14, 2023, the defendant, Roberto Velasquez, and several other individuals were inside the 24-hour Laundry Palace on Merrick Road in Valley Stream.
Velasquez was seated in a chair next to 58-year-old Michael Oliver. The two got into a verbal altercation, leading the defendant to get up out of his chair, reach for a duffel bag, and hit Oliver with the bag. The contents of the bag spilled to the floor, revealing a large machete.
The defendant grabbed the machete and swung it at Oliver twice in the back, paused, and hit the victim once more on the back of his left leg just above the knee. Oliver then fell to the ground, bleeding profusely. The defendant gathered his duffle bag and the machete and left the laundromat.
Oliver was taken to North Shore University Hospital - Manhasset and required emergency surgery. Though he survived the surgery, Oliver suffered damage to major organs because of the blood loss and an infection and was placed on life support. He died 10 days after the incident on March 24, 2023.
Velasquez was arrested by detectives with the Nassau County Police Department’s 5th Squad on March 14, 2023, in Lynbrook.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Tracy Keeton of the Homicide Bureau. The defendant is represented by Alan Schwartz, Esq.