Thursday, October 1, 2026
A Hempstead man who had been on the run for five years was arrested and arraigned for a 2020 shooting that left a man dead on Terrace Avenue.
Ramel Ferguson was charged Nov. 18 with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
According to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly, Ferguson, 29, approached 31-year-old Karson Banks in a 2007 Nissan Murano parked in front of 103 Terrace Ave. in Hempstead at 11:21 a.m. on Oct. 5, 2020.
Armed with a loaded handgun, Ferguson allegedly fired four shots at close range, hitting Banks in the lower back, side, right arm and upper left arm. Ferguson left the scene in a vehicle and later left the state. Police found Banks in the vehicle’s front passenger seat. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ferguson was indicted in November 2020, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He remained a fugitive until his arrest by the Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad.
“As law enforcement closed in on him, Ferguson finally gave himself up to police to face prosecution for allegedly taking Karson Banks’ life,” Donnelly said in a news release. “No matter how much time has passed, my homicide prosecutors never give up on a case. We will find the perpetrators, and we will bring them to justice for the tragedy and death that they cause.”
Ferguson pleaded not guilty in front of Judge Robert Schwartz and is in custody. He is due back in court Dec. 8. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years to life in prison.
