Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Hempstead man pleaded guilty yesterday to the murder of a 24-year-old man during a November 2021 attempted robbery in Uniondale.
Khamari Elie, 20, pleaded guilty Monday before Judge Tammy Robbins to Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony); Attempted Robbery in the First Degree (a C violent felony); and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C violent felony). He also pleaded guilty to three counts of Robbery in the First Degree (a B violent felony); two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C violent felony), Menacing in the Second Degree (an A misdemeanor) and Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree (an A misdemeanor) stemming from a separate indictment.
The defendant is due back in court on November 6, 2024, where he is expected to be sentenced to 17 years to life in prison. NCDA recommended a sentence of 20 years to life in prison.
“Khamari Elie’s plea reflects his undeniable role in this violent crime,” DA Donnelly said. “Although he did not pull the trigger himself, this defendant accepted culpability for Kyle Midtlyng’s senseless death when he took part in planning the robbery and got behind the wheel to drive to Alexander Avenue that night where Kyle was fatally shot.”
DA Donnelly said that on the night of November 10, 2021, Elie, co-defendant Kyle Colthirst, and two additional co-defendants, Tariq Pitaud and Tyrel Cason Jr., went to 1001 Alexander Avenue in Uniondale to rob 24-year-old Kyle Midtlyng.
Pitaud lured Midtlyng to the location under the pretense of wanting to buy marijuana, texting him to set up the purchase.
Elie drove Colthirst and the co-defendants to the scene, where Colthirst exited the vehicle to rob Midtlyng.
Cason Jr. also allegedly accompanied Colthirst to confront Midtlyng.
Colthirst entered the front passenger side of the victim’s vehicle and during the attempted robbery, shot Midtlyng once in the right side, piercing both lungs and his aorta.
Colthirst then exited the vehicle and fled down Lee Road.
Nassau County Police Department officers responded to the area after a 911 call was placed and found Midtlyng lying in the middle of the road outside of his car.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A shell casing was recovered from the passenger side floorboard of the victim’s vehicle and blood droplets were found on the sidewalk of Lee Road that matched Colthirst’s DNA.
Colthirst was also wearing an Electronic Monitoring device at the time of the murder, and GPS data placed the monitor at the scene during the time the crime was committed.
Colthirst was convicted after a trial of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony); Attempted Robbery in the First Degree (a C violent felony); and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C violent felony). He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on April 2, 2024.
Co-defendant Tariq Pitaud, 21, of West Babylon, was convicted after a trial of Attempted Robbery in the First Degree and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree. He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 1, 2024.
Co-defendant Tyrel Cason Jr., 21, of South Farmingdale, was indicted and arraigned on November 27, 2023, on charges of Murder in the Second Degree; Attempted Robbery in the First Degree; and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree. The case against him is pending.
The cases are being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Tracy Keeton of the Homicide Bureau under the supervision of Bureau Chief Jared Rosenblatt and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Litigation Division Kevin Higgins. Colthirst was represented by Doug Rankin, Esq. Pitaud is represented by Gilbert Bayonne, Esq. Elie is represented by Jeffrey Groder, Esq. Cason Jr. is represented by Mitch Barnett, Esq.
The charges against Cason Jr. are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.