Gang Member Sentenced For Killing Rival, Injuring Another: Prosecutors

MINEOLA, NY — A West Hempstead man has been sentenced to 32 years to life in prison for shooting rival gang members in 2019, which led to a 16-year-old's death, prosecutors said.

Sharayda Washington, 26, was convicted on March 23 of charges that include second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault.

"This defendant, trying to settle a score with a rival and elevate his status within his own gang, fired a barrage of bullets at a young man who was standing with an unsuspecting group, killing 16-year-old Josiah Tucker and injuring another teen," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. "This violent outburst took place as members of the community were walking the streets in broad daylight, and just steps away from the Nassau County District Court."

On March 13, 2019, at approximately 5:45 p.m. in the vicinity of 129 Jackson St. in Hempstead, Washington, a member of the Bloods, fired 10 shots with a .22 caliber handgun at a group of nine members of the Crips, in retribution for an altercation that took place a week earlier between the rival gangs, Donnelly said.

Sixteen-year-old Josiah Tucker was struck in the chest and died at a hospital. A second 16-year-old victim was shot in the buttocks.