Thursday, October 1, 2026
Roosevelt man, Dennis Ray, was convicted by a jury for murder and other charges connected to an incident where he allegedly severely beat a man outside of a Hempstead Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in 2022. The victim, Jose Osma, died a year later from his injuries.
The conviction was dirst detailed by Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly on Thursday, April 9. Ray, 64, who is also known as "Midnight," was convicted during a jury trial on April 7 of murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree and first and second-degree robbery.
The trial began this year on March 23, and the jury deliberated for four and a half hours before delivering their April 7 verdict. The defendant is due back in court on May 12 for sentencing and faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
"Jose Osma was beaten to within an inch of his life during a robbery in 2022, and what followed was an endless cycle of brain surgeries, paralysis, rehab and hospitalizations until Jose sadly succumbed to his extensive injuries a year later," Donnelly said. "Dennis Ray showed no remorse for his violent assault, even bragging minutes after the attack about the stolen money and the heinous crime he committed to get it."
Donnelly continued, stating, "For days after the attack Jose's family did not know where he was or what had happened to him, and for a year after that, they were heartbreakingly forced to witness his tragic decline. I hope that this conviction brings them a measure of justice, and I thank the jury for their decision to convict this defendant."
Donnelly said that on April 22, 2022, at approximately 11 p.m., Ray and co-defendant Tyrell Guthrie, during the robbery, brutally beat Jose Osma in the rear of 162 Fulton Avenue - a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant - in Hempstead.
The 59-year-old victim was discovered by someone passing by at around 6:30 a.m. the following morning. Osma, who lived in Copiague, could not be immediately identified since he had no identification on him when he was found and brought to the hospital unconscious. Osma had sustained numerous skull and orbital fractures.
Osma's family filed a missing person's report in Suffolk County, and was discovered two days after he was attacked, April 24, at NYU Langone Hospital Long Island, where he was listed as a "John Doe."
Guthrie was arrested near the scene of the crime by members of the Nassau County Police Department with the victim's blood on his clothing. Guthrie was also holding a jacket stained with the victim's blood which Ray was wearing on the night of the attack. Ray was later arrested on May 7, 2022, by Nassau County Police.
Osma slipped in and out of a coma several times after the assault and underwent five separate brain surgeries. He eventually died on April 30, 2023.
Guthrie pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree on November 9, 2023, and sentenced to 18 years in prison on Jan. 29, 2024.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Stefanie Palma of the Nassau County Court Trial Bureau. Ray is represented by Joseph Lo Piccolo, Esq. and Guthrie is represented by David Haber, Esq.
