A West Hempstead man has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in a case that spanned over the course of nearly two years.
The Nassau County Police Department confirmed that they’d arrested 20-year-old Milton Allen of West Hempstead on January 22. He was arraigned the next day and pleaded not guilty to the charge of Murder in the Second Degree.
According to the court docket obtained by the Herald, Allen is currently being held without bail, pending trial. He is being represented by Brian James Carmody of Garden City.
The incident in question first took place on April 1, 2023, at approximately 1:30AM. At that time, the Homicide Squad was dispatched to investigate a report given to them by ShotSpotter, which reported an active shooting near Polk Avenue.
Upon arriving to the scene, the Homicide Squad reported seeing two women that presented with gunshot wounds, who were immediately transported to the hospital. While one woman was in stable condition and eventually recovered from her injuries, another woman - Kimberly Midgette, 44 – succumbed to her injuries on April 4, 2023.
Midgette, who was an elementary school teacher in the Bronx, was dropping her daughter off at her father’s house when a car containing a group of men pulled up in a stolen car and opened fire.
Investigators also say that Midgette was not the intended target of the shooting, which they believe was a retaliation for a previous shooting.
Midgette’s four-year-old daughter was not harmed in the shooting.
Initially, detectives were looking to charge the suspects with attempted murder, but the charges were amended to second-degree murder following the death of Midgette.
On November 2, 2023, two men - Oumar Barry, 27, of Hempstead and a 16-year-old male juvenile – were arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Midgette. They were subsequently arraigned on November 3, 2023, in First District Court and the Youth Part.
Additional information about the 16-year-old male juvenile wasn’t available, as he was a minor at the time of his arrest.
It is unclear whether additional arrests would be forthcoming in connection to the death of Midgette, or whether additional charges would be added due to the stolen car being used in the commission of the murder.