Joshua Golson-Orelus was convicted on all counts by a jury in February
MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a New Cassel man was sentenced today to 55 Years to life in prison for a six-month robbery spree in Nassau County in which he targeted gas stations and convenience stores and murdered a gas station attendant during an attempted robbery.
Joshua Golson-Orelus, 25, was found guilty by a jury on February 15 before Acting Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty of:
- Murder in the 1st Degree (an A-I felony)
- Murder in the 2nd Degree (an A-I felony)
- Nine counts of Robbery in the 1st Degree (a B violent felony)
- Two counts of Attempted Robbery in the 1st Degree (a C violent felony)
- Two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the 2nd Degree (a C violent felony)
- Two counts of Robbery in the 2nd Degree (a C violent felony)
The trial lasted approximately five weeks and the jury deliberated for less than a day.
“This predator went on a months-long armed robbery spree that terrorized Nassau shopkeepers and senselessly murdered an innocent family man, Hany Awad, whose wife and children were about to travel from Egypt to begin their lives in freedom,” DA Singas said. “Joshua Golson-Orelus deserves every day of this long prison sentence for his heinous crime, and I am grateful to the Nassau County Police Department and our prosecutors for their outstanding work bringing this defendant to justice.”
DA Singas said that Golson-Orelus’ robbery spree began in the early morning hours of Dec. 20, 2014, when he robbed a Citgo gas station in Westbury. The defendant committed five more robberies in January, including robbing the Citgo station again on Jan 17 and robbing the same 7- Eleven location in Hicksville twice in a matter of five days. All of the robberies were committed at gunpoint and most were captured on video.
On Jan. 28, 2015, at approximately 9:14 p.m., the defendant was attempting to rob a BP gas station in Jericho when he shot and killed 56 year-old Hany Awad, who was working at the gas station owned by his brother. Mr. Awad died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. The victim was an Egyptian immigrant who was beginning his American dream. At the time of his murder, Awad’s wife and children planned to immigrate to the United States to join him the following month.
Following the murder, Golson-Orelus robbed two more gas stations in February and another station in March. The defendant’s last robbery occurred on June 14, when he hit a Westbury Citgo that he had robbed on two previous occasions.
After Golson-Orelus fled the location, he was spotted by a Nassau County Police Department officer who pursued him and recorded the license number on the vehicle the defendant was using.
Golson-Orelus was arrested on June 17, 2014 in Utica, NY. Police had tracked him to Utica through his cell phone and Utica Police assisted with the arrest.
Dates and locations of the robberies and homicide include:
- 12/20/2014 – Citgo – 495 Union Avenue, Westbury
- 1/8/2015 – 7-Eleven – 384 West John Street, Hicksville
- 1/12/2015 – Mobil – 79 Old Country Road, Westbury
- 1/13/2015 – 7-Eleven – 384 West John Street, Hicksville
- 1/17/2015 – Citgo – 495 Union Avenue, Westbury
- 1/19/2015 – Hess – 880 Old Country Road, Westbury
- 1/28/2015 – BP – 39 Jericho Turnpike, Jericho – *location of homicide*
- 2/6/2015 – Hess – 800 Jericho Turnpike, Westbury
- 2/18/2015 – Sunoco – 2475 Hempstead Turnpike, East Meadow
- 3/15/2015 – Apple Green – 118 Newbridge Road, Hicksville
- 6/14/2015 – Citgo – 495 Union Avenue, Westbury
Chief Michael Walsh of DA Singas’ Major Offense Bureau and District Court Bureau Deputy Chief Anna Acquafredda prosecuted the case. Golson-Orelus is represented by Mitchell Barnett, Esq.