Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a former supermarket employee was convicted today of murdering a supervisor and attempting to murder two coworkers at a West Hempstead Stop and Shop in April 2021.
Gabriel DeWitt Wilson, 33, of Hempstead, was convicted by a jury 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 trial, before Judge Helene Gugerty, began on April 24, 2023, and the jury deliberated for less than six hours before delivering their verdict. The defendant was remanded and is due back for sentencing on June 8, 2023. He faces a potential maximum of 90 years to life in prison.
The defendant was acquitted of two counts of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree.
“Disgruntled employee Gabriel Wilson entered the West Hempstead Stop and Shop with a loaded semi-automatic gun and the intent to kill,” DA Donnelly said. “The defendant went into an office on the second floor, pointed his weapon at two coworkers and struck both of them. He then proceeded to another room where he encountered 49-year-old Raymond Wishropp, the grocery manager who was eating a sandwich on his lunch break, and shot the man directly in the chest at point-blank range. Gabriel Wilson calmly left the building and walked to Hempstead where he was subsequently arrested due to the brave police work of the Nassau County and Hempstead police departments. This defendant has shown zero remorse for his actions. We thank the jury for their service and our thoughts are with Ray’s many family members, friends, and longtime coworkers – many of whom attended the trial – as they continue to mourn his senseless 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 are 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 Raymond 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.