Hempstead Man Convicted of Murder and Other Felonies in 2008 Restaurant Shooting

Dailey faces life in prison after shooting four men sitting in a car behind a Westbury nightclub

MINEOLA, NY - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that Dwayne Dailey has been convicted by a jury of murdering 17-year-old Edwin Mejia Alvarado as he sat in a car with three friends behind La Boom nightclub in Westbury. Dailey mistook Alvarado for a member of a rival gang, murdering him and seriously wounding the three other men in the car.

Dailey, 23, of Hempstead, was convicted of Murder in the Second Degree, three counts of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, three counts of Assault in the First Degree, and four counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree. He faces up to life in prison at his August 11 sentencing.

Rice said that at about 11 p.m. on February 17, 2008, Alvarado and three friends were leaving La Boom nightclub, located inside Don Juan Mexican Restaurant on Old Country Road in Westbury. Earlier in the evening a disturbance involving club patrons and two members of the MS-13 street gang resulted in the ejection of the gang members from the club.  During the altercation, word spread of the incident to individuals outside of the club.  One of those individuals was the defendant, Dwayne Dailey.  Alvarado and his friends are not gang members.

Dailey, a member of the Bloods gang, and another man, Olban Gonzales, 20, of Roosevelt, arrived at the club in response to telephone calls from friends describing the earlier altercation.  Mistaking Alvarado and his friends for the MS-13 members that had been escorted out of the club, the two assailants followed the teens to their vehicle, before eventually opening fire on the parked Honda sedan. Alvarado was killed, while the three others suffered serious injuries. They have since recovered, but all are permanently disabled. Gonzales, a member of the 18th Street gang, is awaiting trial on identical charges.

“This was not just murder, this was a cold-blooded execution,” Rice said. “Mr. Dailey’s crimes demand the maximum prison sentence. This man should never see the light of day again.”

Assistant District Attorney and Chief of the Major Offense Bureau Mitch Benson and Assistant District Attorney Anna Acquafredda of the Major Offense Bureau are handling the case for the DA’s Office. The defendant is represented by Arshad Majid, Esq.