By Ivan Pereira
A Jamaica man was convicted last Thursday in Nassau County of killing a bar patron two years ago following an argument over a woman, the Nassau County district attorney’s office said.
Sandino Campbell, 28, faces 25 years to life in prison for his conviction on second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, Nassau DA Kathleen Rice said. Campbell shot Galy Fortune, 47, of Valley Stream, L.I., May 16, 2009, after the two fought inside a nightclub, according to the DA.
“This was a senseless act of violence, and we will ask that the defendant serve the rest of his life behind bars,” Rice said in a statement.
Campbell and his girlfriend were at the Café Moments club in Elmont and around 4 a.m. he and Fortune began arguing over the woman, the DA said. The altercation escalated and the two men began fighting before the club’s staff broke them up, according to Rice.
The staff escorted Campbell and Fortune out of the club, but that was not enough to stop the Queens patron, the DA said.
Campbell and his girlfriend left Café Moments through the back door while Fortune walked through the front, according to Rice. As Fortune walked away, Campbell took out a gun and opened fire as he drove off, the DA said.
Fortune was shot below the ribs and rushed to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, L.I., where he later died, Rice said. Campbell fled to Los Angelus and lived there under several alias, but was apprehended by U.S. marshals on a separate matter, according to the DA.
He told the jury during the two-week trial that someone else was responsible for Fortune’s killing, but they did not believe his explanation, according to the DA.
“While the jury’s verdict cannot bring back Mr. Fortune to his family, I hope this conviction will give them some sense of peace and justice,” she said.
A sentencing date has been scheduled for Aug. 22, according to Rice.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
