Rapper known as 'Frenchie' sentenced to 12 years in prison for 2021 Shirley home invasion

A Suffolk County judge sentenced a Middle Island rapper he estimated to be the “least culpable” member of a 2021 Shirley home invasion crew to the “most time” in prison at his sentencing in Riverhead Thursday.

Gregg Hogan, 37, also known by his stage name, “Frenchie,” was sentenced by State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei to 12 years in prison for his role in the May 2021 incident, in which an 18-year-old autistic man was whipped with a pistol and suffered lacerations to his face as his parents looked on.

Prosecutors said the crew targeted the home after receiving “an erroneous tip” that there was marijuana and $100,000 cash inside.

Hogan was the only of the four men charged in the incident to go to trial. He was convicted of three counts of first-degree burglary and one count of second-degree burglary at a jury trial in June.

“The pistol whipping of an innocent autistic young man in a failed home invasion is among the most outrageous crimes we have prosecuted,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement. “Hopefully this defendant’s conviction and significant prison sentence provides the victims with some sense of relief and security.”

Prosecutors had sought a 15-year prison sentence, 10 years below the maximum of 25, with Hogan’s defense attorney, Anthony Scheller of Central Islip, asking for the minimum five years. Hogan, who had filed an unsuccessful motion to vacate his conviction last year, has maintained that he did not enter the home that night. 

Prior to issuing the sentence, Mazzei spoke of the awkwardness of issuing a longer prison sentence to Hogan than he has to two previously sentenced co-defendants who pleaded guilty and admitted taking part in the crime.

“The problem is you went to trial,” said Mazzei, who told Hogan he was also troubled by a presentencing report that showed he denied “guilt of any sort” when interviewed by probation officials.

Scheller, who was hired by Hogan after his conviction, told Mazzei he believed his client was not given a serious opportunity to accept a plea deal and only learned of an offer on the eve of his trial.

An emotional Hogan told the judge he was sorry for “being in the presence of knuckleheads.”

“I was with them and I shouldn’t have been with them,” Hogan said.

Hogan, who has been credited in media reports with helping to discover hip-hop megastar Nicki Minaj, told Mazzei he believed he was being paid to perform when he joined the crew that night. He said he only learned of the planned home invasion after he was in the car.

Prosecutors said the men kicked in the door of the home at about 3:30 a.m. and woke up the family. They demanded the parents and their teenage son lie face down on the ground as they searched for drugs and money, prosecutors said.

“What happened that night was any family’s complete nightmare,” Mazzei told Hogan, calling the co-defendants “more than knuckleheads.”

Two of Hogan’s co-defendants, Donte Thomas, 24, and Miguel Ruiz, 29, previously pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary and were sentenced to nine and 10 years, respectively. Brayan Medrano, 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted burglary and will be sentenced May 17, court records show. 

Another participant in the crime, Hakim Muhammad, 20, was convicted of an unrelated murder in Utica County and is serving a sentence of 25 years to life for that conviction, prosecutors said.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.