Westbury man sent to prison for stabbing, robbing former roommate

A Westbury man who stabbed and threw his former roommate down a basement staircase was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison, Nassau prosecutors said.

Wilson Garcia, 20, must also serve three years of post-release supervision.

A jury convicted Garcia last month of four counts of assault, four counts of robbery and criminal possession of a weapon, authorities said.

Garcia was a crack cocaine user and day laborer who once worked and lived with the 35-year-old victim, the Nassau District Attorney’s Office said.

When they were together Nov. 10, 2015 in a home in New Cassel, Garcia demanded money so he could buy cocaine, prosecutors said. The victim, who had a $100 bill, said he’d give the money left over to Garcia after making some purchases.

But Garcia pulled out a knife, stabbed his roommate in his right temple, threw him down the stairs, then snatched the bill out of the victim’s pocket, prosecutors said.

“This defendant robbed and brutally stabbed his former roommate in the head and left him for dead,” District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a statement.

Despite a severed artery, the victim crawled up from the bottom of the staircase and made it across the street, where a Good Samaritan called 911, authorities said. He was taken to Nassau University Medical Center and has recovered, prosecutors said.

Garcia’s attorney could not be immediately reached Tuesday night.