Hempstead Man Gets 25 Years to Life for Murder in Attempted Robbery Gone Wrong

Pender fatally shot Elmont man in the neck, receives maximum

MINEOLA, NY - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that Rashawn Pender has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison by a Nassau County judge for shooting a man to death in a Hempstead apartment building last October. Rice said the shooting was an attempted robbery gone bad.

Pender, 21, of Hempstead, was convicted by a jury of Murder in the Second Degree, Attempted Robbery in the First Degree, and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree on July 31. Nassau County Judge Tammy Robbins imposed the sentence Friday afternoon in Nassau County Court, Mineola.

Rice said that at about midnight on October 25, 2008, Pender and two other men attending a party at a Hempstead apartment building decided to rob another party attendee, Andre Scott, 23, of Elmont. During the robbery, Scott attempted to flee the scene and was shot once in the neck as he ran past Pender. Scott stumbled down a hallway and attempted to make it down a flight of stairs to the first floor. He was subsequently found by police at the bottom of the stairs and pronounced dead at the scene.

The other two men charged in the crime, Theron Rhodes, 18, of Hempstead, and Derek Cullum, 20, of Roosevelt, pleaded guilty to their roles in the murder and are serving seven and 13 years in prison, respectively.

“I hope that Mr. Scott’s family can find some solace in this sentence,” Rice said. “This senseless act of violence deserved the harshest sentence possible, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that Mr. Pender spends the rest of his life in prison.”

Assistant District Attorney Christopher Holbrook of the Major Offense Bureau is handling the case for the DA’s Office. The defendant is represented by Michael Elbert, Esq.