Victim suffered brain surgeries coma and paralysis before dying from the brutal Hempstead attack
MINEOLA, N.Y. — A Roosevelt man convicted of brutally beating and robbing a Long Island father behind a Hempstead Chuck E. Cheese was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years to life in prison after the victim spent nearly a year slipping in and out of comas before dying from catastrophic injuries.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced that 64-year-old Dennis Ray, also known as Midnight, received the prison sentence following his April conviction on charges including second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and robbery.
Prosecutors said Ray and co-defendant Tyrell Guthrie attacked 59-year-old Jose Osma during a robbery outside the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant at 162 Fulton Ave. in Hempstead on April 21, 2022.
According to investigators, the attack happened at approximately 11 p.m. in the rear of the restaurant property. Osma was discovered by a passerby around 6:30 a.m. the next morning unconscious and severely injured.
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Authorities said the Copiague resident had no identification or personal belongings when he was found and was transported to a hospital suffering from multiple skull and orbital fractures.
Osma’s family later filed a missing persons report in Suffolk County before discovering he had been admitted to NYU Langone Hospital — Long Island as a John Doe patient.
Investigators said Osma endured repeated medical complications following the attack, including multiple comas, paralysis, and five separate brain surgeries. He ultimately died from his injuries on April 30, 2023.
Police arrested Guthrie near the scene shortly after the attack. Prosecutors said he had the victim’s blood on his clothing and was carrying a jacket stained with blood that Ray had been wearing during the assault.
Ray was arrested weeks later on May 7, 2022.
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Guthrie later pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 18 years in prison in January 2024.
During Wednesday’s sentencing, Donnelly said Osma’s children watched their father suffer through devastating injuries and years of medical complications before his death.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Stefanie Palma of the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
Key Points
- Dennis Ray was sentenced to 25 years to life for the murder of Jose Osma
- Prosecutors said Osma was beaten and robbed behind a Hempstead Chuck E. Cheese
- The victim died nearly a year later after multiple brain surgeries and comas
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