Keith Pooler sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in stabbing death of Andre Garry during street fight

A Hewlett resident was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing a man in the heart in June 2020, Nassau County prosecutors said.

Keith Pooler, 56, was convicted in May after a jury trial of the second-degree murder of Andre Garry, 49, of West Hempstead, along with one count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

“Keith Pooler senselessly took Andre Garry’s life during a street corner fight, driving a steak knife into the victim’s heart,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “With today’s jail sentence, Pooler will pay for this terrible crime and his violence will no longer be a threat to the Hempstead community.”

Christopher Graziano, Pooler's Mineola-based defense attorney, said he was “disappointed” with the sentence.

“We’re going to file an appeal and we think we have several good grounds to do that,” he said.

Prosecutors said Pooler and the victim had a verbal altercation on June 28, 2020, at 9 p.m. on the corner of Terrace and Fulton avenues in Hempstead.

As the argument continued, Pooler pulled out a 5-inch steak knife and plunged it into Garry's heart, authorities said. The victim collapsed and Pooler fled the scene, police said.

Garry was taken to NYU Langone Hospital Long Island where he was pronounced dead.

Police recovered the murder weapon nearby less than 20 minutes after the stabbing, authorities said.

Pooler was arrested in Hewlett by Nassau Police Department Homicide Squad detectives on July 11, 2020.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.