Man Sentenced in Slashing of Amityville Man

A Hempstead man was sentenced Monday in a 2012 slashing of an Amityville man at a Freeport motel, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s office.

Robert Dixon, 51, was ordered to spend between 20 years and life in prison after he was convicted by a jury of first-degree assault in January, the DA said. Dixon was acquitted of two counts of robbery by the same jury, officials said.

“This defendant took part in a brutal attack in which the victim was outnumbered, held in a chokehold, and viciously assaulted,” Acting DA Madeline Singas said in a statement Monday. “Thanks to the good work of medical responders, police and prosecutors, the victim survived and this defendant will be locked up for a very long time.”

Dixon and his accomplice, Wayne Speaks, 48, of Uniondale, were charged with assaulting a man in a Freeport motel room after a dispute with Wendi Seletsky, officials said.

Dixon held the victim in a chokehold while Speaks slashed his lip, leg, and forehead, officials said. Dixon also knocked the victim’s front teeth out with an object, likely a gun, the DA said.

The victim, Robert Payton, 48, was rushed to South Nassau Communities Hospital for treatment and survives today with scars, officials said.

Speaks, after representing himself in court, was sentenced to nine years in prison in January for assault, weapons, and robbery charges, the DA said.

Seletsky, 31, of Hempstead, pleaded guilty in March to second-degree assault and was sentenced to three years in prison after violating probation, officials said.