LI Man Pleads Guilty Ahead Of Trial For Weapon Possession Charge: DA

MINEOLA, NY — A Hempstead man pleaded guilty ahead on the eve of trial to a weapon possession charge stemming from a May 2024 search that turned up a semiautomatic pistol hidden inside a pink pillowcase, prosecutors said.

Shaquan Lewis, 42, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, Nassau County D.A. Anne Donnelly said.

On May 8, 2024, members of the Nassau County Police Department’s Bureau of Special Operations and Narcotics and Vice Squad executed a search warrant at an address on Koeppel Place in Hempstead connected to a separate police investigation, Donnelly said.

Detectives entered the Lewis' bedroom and recovered a loaded Taurus Model G2C 9mm semiautomatic pistol inside of a sock stuffed into a pink pillowcase on the ground beneath his bed, prosecutors said.

A high-capacity magazine was also recovered from the room, prosecutors said.

"This defendant is a prior violent felony offender going back years and has previously served time behind bars for weapons charges,” Donnelly said. “On the eve of trial, he accepted responsibility for his crimes, pleaded guilty, and faces nearly a decade in prison once he is sentenced. I am committed to aggressively prosecuting cases of dangerous illegal weapons and will always hold defendants accountable who put community safety at risk.”

Lewis is expected to be sentenced to nine years in prison on June 18, Donnelly said.

Patch attempted to get a comment from his attorney Brian Carmody.