Hempstead man sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for 2018 murder, prosecutors say

A Nassau judge on Tuesday sentenced a Hempstead man to 25 years to life in prison for stabbing a romantic rival to death in 2018, according to prosecutors.

Acting State Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty meted out the punishment to Shavon Goins, 27, after a jury convicted him in December of second-degree murder and weapon possession in the slaying of Ravino Bailey.

Prosecutors said Goins attacked Bailey, 23, of Uniondale, with a kitchen knife inside a Dartmouth Street home in Hempstead after kicking in the door, five hours after threatening to kill him while in front of the same residence.

Goins stabbed Bailey in the heart and through his right arm, according to prosecutors, who said the victim then stumbled out of the house.

Authorities said Bailey tried to drive himself to a hospital, but kept losing consciousness, and a 911 call in the early morning of March 24, 2018, brought police to the scene of what they said was a single-car crash on a Hempstead street.

Police then found Bailey, discovered he had been stabbed and rushed him to a hospital, according to law enforcement officials. But they said he died less than an hour later.

Goins fled to Montgomery, Alabama, according to prosecutors, who said Nassau police and federal marshals arrested him there in April 2018 with the help of local authorities.

In a statement Tuesday, Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas called Bailey’s murder senseless, adding that she hoped the case’s resolution would bring “some measure of closure” to the victim’s family.

Goins’ attorney, William Shanahan, said Tuesday that he would be filing an appeal on his client’s behalf.

“There were numerous legal issues which the appellate division will have to review and we are confident that the case will be reversed on appeal,” the Mineola lawyer added.