"The final moments of Jose Sanchez-Velasquez’s life were filled with...

"The final moments of Jose Sanchez-Velasquez’s life were filled with shock and terror" before Kadeem Lewis robbed and fatally shot him dead in November 2019, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said Friday in a statement. She is shown on July 3. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca

A Hempstead man was sentenced to 24 years to life in prison for robbing and killing a man who was asleep in his car, the Nassau County district attorney announced on Friday.

Kadeem Lewis, 31, was sentenced in Nassau County Court after being convicted of murder in the killing of Jose Sanchez-Velasquez, 33, in 2019, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.

Around 2:19 a.m. on Nov. 25, 2019, Lewis and a co-defendant approached Sanchez, who was asleep behind the wheel of his car on Burnett Street in Hempstead, Donnelly’s office said in a statement. As Lewis approached the driver’s side door, the co-defendant "opened the front passenger-side door and removed several cell phones" before removing Sanchez-Velasquez from the vehicle, the Nassau district attorney said.

Lewis then shot Sanchez-Velasquez once in the chest, killing him, authorities said.

After both men fled the scene, Donnelly’s office said Lewis dropped two of the phones taken from Sanchez-Velasquez’s car in a neighbor's backyard.

On Dec. 21, 2019, while wearing a ski mask, Lewis "was involved in an incident" at a residence on Alan Street in Hempstead, where he dropped his cellphone, according to the release from Donnelly’s office.

Police later found a wallet taken from that residence along with the ski mask, authorities said. DNA samples taken from the scene of Sanchez-Velasquez’s murder and the ski mask were both a match to Lewis. Nassau police arrested him on Feb. 6, 2020.

A jury convicted Lewis of second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and second-degree robbery on Oct. 31, 2024.

"The final moments of Jose Sanchez-Velasquez’s life were filled with shock and terror when Kadeem Lewis and a co-defendant roused him from sleep inside his car and robbed him," Donnelly said in the Friday statement. "Our thoughts remain with Jose’s loved ones at this time, and we hope that this most severe punishment provides them with the justice they deserve for this unspeakable crime."

After both men were arrested in February 2020, police identified the co-defendant as Richard Ford, 33, who was homeless, Newsday previously reported.

Neither Mitchell Barnett, the defense attorney representing Lewis, nor Steve Barnwell, identified as Ford’s attorney in court records, could be immediately reached for comment on Friday.

Ford pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, three counts of first-degree robbery and second-degree robbery according to court documents. His next court appearance is scheduled for Monday.

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