Man Who Killed Nassau Gas Station Attendant Gets Long Prison Sentence

A New Cassel man was sentenced to 55 years to life in prison on Tuesday for the murder of a gas station attendant during a 2015 attempted robbery that was part of a six-month long Nassau County robbery spree, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said.

Joshua Golson-Orelus, 25, pleaded guilty in February to first-degree murder, second-degree murder, nine counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of first-degree attempted robbery, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and two counts of second-degree robbery. He faced life in prison without parole at his sentencing.

The trial lasted approximately five weeks and the jury deliberated for less than a day.

“This predator went on a months-long armed robbery spree that terrorized Nassau shopkeepers and senselessly murdered an innocent family man, Hany Awad, whose wife and children were about to travel from Egypt to begin their lives in freedom,” Singas said in a press release.

According to authorities, Golson-Orelus shot Hany Awad, 56, of Levittown, during an attempted robbery at the BP gas station, located at 39 Jericho Turnpike in Jericho, on Jan. 28, 2015 at 9:14 p.m. A customer found Awad’s body on the floor behind the counter. Awad suffered a gunshot wound to the torso and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The DA said Awad was an Egyptian immigrant and his wife and children were planning to immigrate to the United States and join him the following month.

This murder and attempted robbery was part of Golson-Orelus’ months-long string of gas station and convenience store robberies.

The location of robberies committed by Golson-Orelus include:

• Dec. 20, 1014: Citgo, located at 495 Union Turnpike in Westbury
• Jan. 8, 2015: 7-Eleven, located at 384 West John St. in Hicksville
• Jan. 12, 2015: Mobil, located at 79 Old Country Road in Westbury
• Jan. 13, 2015: 7-Eleven, located at 384 West John Street in Hicksville
• Jan. 17, 2015: Citgo, located at 495 Union Turnpike in Westbury
• Jan. 28, 2015: BP, located at 39 Jericho Turnpike in Jericho (location of homicide)
• Feb. 6, 2015: Hess, located at 800 Jericho Turnpike in Westbury
• Feb. 18, 2015: Sunoco, located at 2475 Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow
• March 15, 2015: Apple Green, located at 118 Newbridge Road in Hicksville
• June 14, 2015: Citgo, located at 495 Union Ave. in Westbury

Following the June 14, 2015 robbery, where he targeted a Westbury gas station for the third time, a Nassau County Police Department officer spotted Golson-Orelus fleeing the location and recorded his license plate number. Golson-Orelus was located and arrested on Jun 17, 2015 in Utica.

Image via NCDA