Nov. 1, 2019 By Shane O’Brien
A Long Island City man who shot an Astoria resident in the back and pistol whipped him to death was convicted of murder on Friday, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Javyn McNish, 21, was found guilty of murder for the Dec. 2, 2017 killing of Jerell Lewis, 20, who was brutally attacked without provocation in broad daylight in the vicinity of the Ravenswood Houses.
McNish, who lived on 21st Street, reportedly chased Lewis down the street and fired three shots at him with a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol, hitting him in the hand and the spine. The bullet to the spine paralyzed him instantly and sent him to the ground where McNish proceeded to beat him viciously around the head with his gun.
EMS found Lewis unconscious and unresponsive and he was later pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital.
McNish fled the scene and hid in a nearby apartment where he was found soon after the shooting by the NYPD along with the murder weapon.
Acting Queens DA John Ryan said that McNish murdered Lewis in cold blood.
“The defendant showed a total disregard for human life when he viciously shot and beat a 20-year-old man to death. A jury weighed the evidence and after deliberating for 6 hours rendered a verdict finding this young man guilty of a cold-blooded killing. The defendant now faces a life sentence,” Ryan said.
McNish was convicted of one count of murder in the second degree and one count of criminal possession of a weapon before Queens Supreme Court Judge Kenneth Holder.
He will return to court on Nov. 21 for sentencing where he faces 25 years to life in prison.
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