Hempstead Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Shooting Cab Driver in the Face

Galloway shot cab driver in the jaw 10 minutes after argument at traffic light

MINEOLA, NY - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that a Hempstead man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by a Nassau County judge after shooting a cab driver in the face 10 minutes after the shooter had gotten into a verbal argument at a traffic light with a different cab driver.

Josiah Galloway, 23, was convicted by a jury in March of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, two counts of Assault in the First Degree, Criminal Use of a Firearm in the First Degree, and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree.

Rice said the shooting came approximately 10 minutes after Galloway and another cab driver had gotten into a verbal argument on West Columbia Street and Main Street in Hempstead in the early morning hours of May 15, 2008. The argument began when several cabs were parked at the intersection, including one cab that was double-parked. Galloway pulled up behind the double-parked cab and began honking his horn. One cab driver, who was not the victim in the shooting, moved the double-parked cab to the opposite side of the street. Galloway exited his vehicle and began yelling and cursing at the cab drivers before getting back in his car and leaving the area.

Rice said that Galloway returned to the area 10 minutes later, pulled up alongside the victim’s taxi cab in parked in front of the Hempstead Long Island Railroad station, and shot him in the jaw. The victim suffered multiple fractures, the loss of several teeth, and part of his jaw bone, as well as massive and permanent facial scarring.

“This was a shockingly cold-blooded and violent attack against an innocent man,” Rice said. “I will do everything in my power to ensure that this defendant serves every last minute of his prison sentence.”

Assistant District Attorney Robert Schalk of the County Court Trial Bureau is handling the case for the District Attorney's Office. Galloway is represented by Fred Brewington, Esq.