DA: Ade N'Gaii sentenced to maximum 25 years to life in prison for fatal 2018 stabbing of Kristopher Appel of Patchogue

A Suffolk judge sentenced a New York City man convicted in a fatal stabbing during a 2018 Patchogue home invasion to 25 years to life in prison on Monday, Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said. 

Ade N’Gaii and accomplices, armed with a handgun, drove from the Bronx to Patchogue on Nov. 2, 2018, to steal marijuana and cash from Kristopher Appel, 30, Tierney said. A witness testified that Appel, beaten and fatally stabbed during a confrontation that day with N’Gaii and an accomplice, had operated an illegal cannabis business. 

N’Gaii and his accomplices, Suffolk prosecutors said, had tried to rob Appel a few days earlier, on Oct. 27, 2018, but they were unable to break into his house. Prosecutors said police recovered more than $25,000 in cash and 45 pounds of marijuana edibles from Appel’s home on Sinn Road after his death. 

“This defendant could have walked away from the plan to invade the victim’s home when it failed the first time,” Tierney said, “But, instead, he doubled down. His desire to enrich himself was so great that it led to murder."

A jury found N’Gaii guilty of second-degree murder in Riverhead on Feb. 24. The trial was before acting Supreme Court Justice Anthony Senft, who gave N’Gaii the maximum sentence on Monday.

N’Gaii’s attorney, Alix Duroseau Jr. of Queens, said he believed prosecutors had failed to present evidence beyond a reasonable doubt and that the jury may have been swayed by the horrific nature of the crime. 

“We respect the jury’s verdict, but we disagree with it,” Duroseau said. 

According to testimony at trial, N’Gaii and another man, never apprehended, disguised themselves as construction workers on Nov. 2, 2018, by donning hard hats and reflective vests, then forcibly entered the home. Appel died following a physical struggle in which he was stabbed and struck in the head repeatedly by N’Gaii with the butt of a gun, prosecutors said. 

Investigators found Appel’s body with a construction vest under him and hard hat at his feet, according to a photograph shown at trial. A forensics expert testified that DNA found on both the vest and hat matched N'Gaii. Duroseau said there was a “mixture” of DNA on the gear. 

“Other people wore the hat,” he said. “Other people wore the vest.” 

Duroseau placed the blame for his client’s arrest on Omar Sam, a Ronkonkoma man who pleaded guilty to attempted murder and testified against N'Gaii. In his closing arguments, Duroseau accused Sam of stealing N'Gaii's phone and sending text messages to make it appear as if his client was involved in the killing. Sam, who said he was outside the home during the struggle, expects to be sentenced to 6 to 10 years in prison following his guilty plea.

Joshua Rodriguez, 29, of the Bronx, an admitted getaway driver for N’Gaii, also cooperated with prosecutors after being charged with conspiracy.