Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Roosevelt man was arraigned today on murder charges for allegedly beating a man outside a Hempstead restaurant. The victim died from his injuries a year after the attack.
Dennis Ray, a/k/a Midnight, 62, was arraigned before Judge Howard Sturim on a charge of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony). The defendant pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on January 11, 2024.
The defendant was previously indicted in July 2022 on two counts of Assault in the First Degree (a B violent felony), two counts of Robbery in the First Degree (a B violent felony), two counts of Robbery in the Second Degree (a C violent felony), three counts of Assault in the Second Degree (a D violent felony), Robbery in the Third Degree (a D felony), Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree (a D felony), Assault in the Third Degree (an A misdemeanor), and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree (an A misdemeanor). The two indictments were consolidated today.
Ray faces a potential maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Co-defendant Tyrell Guthrie pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree (a B violent felony) on November 9, 2023. This defendant is expected to be sentenced to 18 years in prison on his next court date of January 17, 2024.
“Jose Osma was brutally beaten during a robbery in April 2022, and both of his orbital sockets were left concaved after the attack allegedly committed by these defendants,” DA Donnelly said. “Thanks to a Good Samaritan, Mr. Osma was found eight hours later and taken to the hospital. Remarkably, he survived multiple brain surgeries, but sadly passed away earlier this year. The Osma family deserves justice and we will hold these defendants accountable for their alleged actions.”
DA Donnelly said that, according to the indictment and investigation, on April 22, 2022, at approximately 11:00 p.m., Tyrell Guthrie and Dennis Ray, allegedly during the course of a robbery, brutally beat Jose Osma in the rear of 162 Fulton Avenue – a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant – in Hempstead.
The 59-year-old victim was discovered by a passerby at approximately 7:00 a.m. the following morning. Osma, who lived in Copiague, had no identification or personal property on him, and was brought to the hospital in an unconscious state with numerous skull and orbital fractures.
Osma’s family filed a missing person’s report in Suffolk County, and he was eventually discovered on April 24, 2022, at NYU Langone Hospital – Long Island (formerly Winthrop Hospital) where he was listed as a “John Doe.”
Guthrie was arrested near the scene by members of the Nassau County Police Department with the victim’s blood on his clothing. Ray was arrested on May 7, 2022, by members of the NCPD.
Osma slipped into and out of a coma several times after the assault and underwent five separate brain surgeries. Ultimately, Osma succumbed to his injuries on April 30, 2023, approximately a year after the attack.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Stefanie Palma of the Homicide Bureau and Senior Assistant District Attorney Joseph Grasso. Ray is represented by Joseph Lo Piccolo, Esq. Guthrie is represented by David Haber, Esq.
The charges against the defendant are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.