Man Sentenced to 19 Years for 2014 Nassau Murder

A Far Rockaway man was sentenced on Tuesday to 19 years in prison for killing a Maryland prison guard outside a Baldwin club in August 2014.

Dashawn Wade, 24, pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Christopher Quinn to first degree manslaughter on Oct. 27.

“This defendant killed a 22-year-old man over a petty disagreement at a nightclub,” said District Attorney Madeline Singas said. “Daquan Gaskins had started a career as a prison guard in Maryland and his promising life was cut short due to this defendant’s heinous actions. I hope that this sentence will help his family in the grieving process.”

On Aug. 2, 2014, at approximately 3:40 a.m., Wade and several friends became involved in a fight with Daquan Gaskins and the victim’s cousin outside the Love Jones Café in Baldwin.

After a fight broke out, Wade retrieved a .38 caliber revolver from a car that was parked a block away. He returned to the club and shot Gaskins once in the chest.

Gaskins was transported to South Nassau Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Wade, who did not know Gaskins before that night, fled the area and spent the next month on the run. He was arrested by the Nassau County Police Department on Sept. 4, 2014.

Gaskins, originally from Hempstead, worked as guard in a juvenile prison in Maryland.

Photo: Nassau County District Attorny