Nassau Man Sentenced for 2014 Carjacking Murder

A Roosevelt man was sentenced Friday to 27 years to life in prison for shooting a man to death during an attempted carjacking in Hempstead in July 2014.

Tayquan Clark, 24, was found guilty by a jury on Oct. 14 before Acting Supreme Court Justice Terence Murphy to charges of second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree attempted robbery and four counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

"This defendant shot and killed an innocent man as he attempted to steal his car," District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a release. "This sentence ensures that this murderer will pay a heavy price for his despicable crime."

Shawn 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 a late-model BMW with his girlfriend at the time of the murder. After the shooting, Clark wiped down the inside of the vehicle to try and destroy any evidence.

Evidence was recovered during the investigation that included 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 BMW, 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.

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