Man Gets More Than 20 Yrs. In Prison For Assault at The Home Depot In Nassau: DA

MINEOLA, NY — A Queens man has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for an incident that took place at The Home Depot in Levittown four years ago, which left the victim with significant and irreparable injuries to one of his wrists, prosecutors said.

Joshua Mitchell, 29, was convicted on May 8 of first-degree assault, second-degree assault, leaving the scene of an incident resulting in serious physical injury and third-degree grand larceny, Nassau County D.A. Anne Donnelly said.

Mitchell was also sentenced to five years of post-release supervision.

On June 17, 2020, Mitchell was spotted by an asset protection officer at The Home Depot, placing 91 expensive plumbing items into a 54-gallon bin in a shopping cart and proceeding toward the exit without paying, Donnelly said.

The total amount of merchandise found in his cart was over $3,000. When the store officer approached him in the vestibule area, Mitchell began to push and shove the cart into him, prosecutors said.

A man who was working at the store as a kitchen designer followed Mitchell into the parking lot to stop him. Mitchell drove his car toward the victim, hitting and launching him into the air, and then proceeded to drive out of the parking lot and onto Hempstead Turnpike, Donnelly said.

The victim required three surgeries for injuries for a fractured wrist.

“Joshua Mitchell will spend decades in prison not only for theft, but for a violent act that left an employee of The Home Depot with permanent physical damage,” said Donnelly. “The victim was only trying to do the right thing, and everyday tasks are now anything but that because of this defendant’s reckless and criminal actions."