Deion Barros, Taiquan Cullum indicted in drive-by shooting death of Hempstead man, prosecutors say

Two reported gang members have been indicted in the 2019 drive-by shooting death of a Hempstead man, retaliation for an earlier incident in which one of the suspects was fired upon in a Baldwin bar, Nassau County prosecutors said.

Deion Barros, 27, of Hempstead, was arraigned Tuesday in Mineola before acting Supreme Court Judge Helene Gugerty on charges of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. His co-defendant, Taiquan Cullum, 33, of Hempstead, was arraigned Aug. 22 before Gugerty on identical charges.

Both men pleaded not guilty and were remanded. If convicted, they each face up to 40 years to life in prison.

“After surviving an attempt on his life at a bar in Baldwin, Taiquan Cullum allegedly decided to take matters into his own hands and enlisted the help of co-defendant Deion Barros to hunt down the individual who shot at him and retaliate,” said District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “The pair came across Paul LaRue, who had been with Cullum’s shooter, but not involved in the earlier incident. The defendants recognized him from the bar and allegedly shot him to death.”

Attorneys for the two men did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In the early morning hours of July 28, 2019, Cullum was in a bar and was shot at seven times by Jermaine Grant because of a perceived dispute with acquaintances of the shooter, prosecutors said.

Cullum responded by retrieving a gun and picking up Barros to assist in finding Grant, charging documents state.

The two men then drove around Hempstead and found LaRue, 36, a friend of Grant who was also at the bar during the attempted murder but not involved in the shooting, prosecutors said.

LaRue was sitting in his Mercedes-Benz, stopped at a red light at the intersection of Clinton and Fulton streets, when Cullum and Barros pulled alongside and opened fire three times, killing him, authorities said. Cullum and Barros then drove off, police said.

Jermaine Grant was subsequently arrested for the attempted murder of Cullum and convicted in 2022 of second-degree attempted murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Barros is due back in court on Sept. 26 and Cullum is scheduled to appear the following day.

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.