EAST VILLAGE — The man who fatally struck an East Village bodega worker with his car while high on PCP and methamphetamine has been sentenced to 20 years-to-life in state prison for murder, according to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.
Shaun Martin, 35, was high on drugs when he sped down Second Avenue in his Nissan Altima the morning of June 19, 2013, swerved across three lanes of traffic, and plowed into the East Village Farm and Grocery Store on the corner of East Fourth Street, striking three of the shops employees, including Mohammed Akkas Ali, 62, who died from his injuries months later.
The other two shop employees were seriously injured, while a nearby cyclist was hit by debris from the crash, according to the DA's office.
“Shaun Martin’s drug-fueled joy ride ended in tragedy as he swerved across Second Avenue, hopped the curb, and smacked into an East Village grocery store,” said Vance in a statement. “Thanks to my Office’s prosecutors and members of the NYPD’s 9th Precinct, he will serve a prison sentence commensurate with his deadly conduct."
Martin was charged with murder in May 2014 following Ali's death. He had previously been charged with aggravated vehicular assault, reckless driving while ability impaired by a combination of drugs and alcohol and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree.
He was convicted of all charges in July of this year.
