Cops nab suspect in Woodmere man's slaying

Nassau police have captured a suspect they believe killed a Woodmere man during a botched robbery in June.

Edward Williams 30, of 163 Lefferts Place, Brooklyn, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder, on charges that he and another man shot Tristan Theodore Hughes, 20, of Woodmere, as Hughes ran from him during the attempted robbery. Williams, who is represented by the Nassau County Legal Aid Society, is being held without bail.

A second suspect in the case is still at large, said Det. Sgt. John Roden.

Police said Hughes, 20, and a friend, whose name was not released, were returning to Hughes' South End Avenue home about 1:40 a.m. June 15 when two armed men approached them and forced them into the house. The men began to tie Hughes and his friend up, then decided against it and went out to Hughes' 2004 black Infiniti, police said.

Police would not say whether Hughes and his friend knew Williams and the other suspect.

The man started to drive away when Hughes' friend jumped out of the moving car and escaped, Roden said.

After the suspects then turned onto Andover Avenue, Hughes too jumped out of the car. As he did, one of the men shot him in the chest, according to police. Believing he was being chased, Hughes stumbled through several nearby yards. Finally, he collapsed on one neighbor's back patio, banged on the door and begged for help. The homeowners who found him then called the police, police said.

Hughes died several hours later at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, police said.

Williams is due back in court Friday.