Man Convicted in 2014 Carjacking Murder

A Roosevelt man was found guilty of murder on Friday for a July 2014 attempted carjacking in Hempstead in which he fatally shot a man.

Tayquan Clark, 24, was found guilty murder in the second degree, two counts of attempted robbery in the first degree and four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. He is due back in court before Judge Terence Murphy on Dec. 1 for sentencing, and faces a minimum of 15 years to life in prison.

“This defendant murdered Shawn Boone while he sat in his car talking with his girlfriend,” District Attorney Madeline Singas said. “Our communities are safer with this killer behind bars and I am grateful to the Hempstead Police Department and our prosecutors for their outstanding work.”

Singas said that Boone was shot in the head and killed by Clark during an attempted carjacking at approximately 1:20 a.m. on July 5, 2014 on Princeton Street in Hempstead. Boone was sitting in his car with his girlfriend at the time of the incident. After the shooting, Clark wiped down the inside of the vehicle to try and destroy any evidence.

During the course of the investigation, evidence was recovered including Clark’s fingerprints on the outside of the driver-side door of the car, video surveillance of the encounter and a ballistics match to a handgun that Clark used during the shooting. The surveillance video showed a man approaching the car, getting inside the vehicle and then running off.

The handgun, a Smith & Wesson snub-nose revolver that was reported stolen in 1971, was linked to Clark when, on July 26, Hempstead Police officers responded to a report of Clark pointing the gun towards at least one person at a gathering in Hempstead. Clark ditched the gun in bushes and was almost immediately stopped by police, who recovered the gun and arrested Clark.