No bail for Hempstead man accused in fatal shooting

A Hempstead man who authorities said pumped three bullets into a St. Albans man's stomach during a party in Uniondale last summer is being held without bail after he was arraigned Thursday on a second-degree murder charge.

Raymond Wade, 20, of 40 Elmwood Ave. was charged with killing Jason Crafton, 27, of Hollis Avenue in St. Albans on June 13.

He was represented by the Legal Aid Society at his arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead. Wade's relatives could not be reached for comment.

The shooting at Southern Parkway and Fullerton Avenue remained unsolved for nearly five months until detectives arrested Wade, who police said fired a handgun just before 1 a.m. at a large party on the Southern Parkway, where Crafton was a guest.

That shooting and another one the day before, in Lakeview, prompted Nassau police to begin monitoring large gatherings on weekend nights. Four Bureau of Special Operations officers were assigned to keep tabs on the events after seeing them advertised on social networking sites.

Lee Crafton, Jason Crafton's mother, praised the Nassau detectives who she said "truly did their job" with respect and diligence from the inception of the case.

"Those officers were so kind," she said. "They were so humane, so respectful. And, above all else, they truly did their job. These men really did what I define as police work."

Lee Crafton, who said her son was a father of three young children, including twins, was a "gentle giant" who stood 6-foot-4 and was well liked throughout his neighborhood in St. Albans.

The Francis Lewis High School graduate had lived in Queens all his life and was never in trouble, so Lee Crafton could not understand why someone would train a gun on him and pull the trigger three times.

"I don't know why he thought he had authority above God to take my son's life," she said. "Jason wasn't that kind of person. I want to look at him face to face and find that space that's broken in my heart to tell him I forgive him because I cannot heal and I cannot go on if I cannot forgive this boy."