Thursday, October 1, 2026
After being convicted on murder, assault and robbery charges last month, Roosevelt man Dennis Ray was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for severely beating Jose Osma outside of a Hempstead Chuck E. Cheese who later died from his injuries. The incident occurred in April 2022.
Ray, 64, who has the alias "Midnight," according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly, was convicted on April 7, 2026, of murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree and first and second degree robbery charges. The jury trial was presided by Judge Tammy Robbins.
"Dennis Ray has never taken responsibility or showed any regret for the vicious beating he inflicted upon Jose Osma four years ago over a wallet and a cellphone," Donnelly detailed in a press release. "Jose's children watched in anguish as their father suffered through a coma, paralysis and multiple brain surgeries, unable to speak or feed himself until he finally died from his injuries."
Donnelly praised Osma's children for "bravely" facing their father's killer during the court proceedings.
"Their suffering does not end with this sentence, but I hope that they can now begin to heal knowing their father's murderer is exactly where he belongs," Donnelly said.
At approximately 11 p.m. on April 21, 2022, Dennis Ray and co-defendant Tyrell Guthrie brutally beat Osma during a robbery behind a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant located at 162 Fulton Avenue in Hempstead.
Osma, who was 59, was discovered by a passerby at approximately 6:30 a.m. the following morning. Osma had lived in Copiague, but had no identification or personal property on him after the robbery. He was brought to NYU Langone Hospital Long Island in Mineola where he was listed as a "John Doe." His family had filed a missing person's report in Suffolk County before he was identified on April 24 at the hospital.
Osma had slipped in and out of a coma several times after the assault and underwent five separate brain surgeries. He ultimately died as a result of his injuries on April 30, 2023.
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 allegedly 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.
Guthrie pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree on Nov. 9, 2023, before being sentenced to 18 years in prison on Jan. 29, 2024.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Stefanie Palma of the County Court Trial Bureau. Ray is represented by Joseph Lo Piccolo, Esq. and Guthrie is represented by David Haber, Esq.
