Disgruntled worker Gabriel DeWitt Wilson hit with 50 years to life in prison for fatal supermarket shooting
A disgruntled grocery cart staffer at a Long Island Stop & Shop supermarket was hit with 50 years to life in prison Thursday at his sentencing for the 2021 shooting rampage that left one co-worker dead and two others wounded.
Gabriel DeWitt Wilson, 33, was convicted by a Nassau County jury last month of one count of second-degree murder and two counts each of attempted murder, assault and felony weapons possession, in the April 20, 2021, shooting at the West Hempstead store, prosecutors said.
“Wilson methodically entered office after office in the second floor of the grocery store, shooting his co-workers without hesitation,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement.
“This defendant showed no contrition or remorse since he was apprehended and throughout the duration of his trial,” she added.
“I am pleased that this very dangerous individual will now likely spend the rest of his life in a prison cell.”
Wilson walked into the supermarket around 10 a.m. on the day of the shooting and got into a beef with the managers before storming out, according to police and co-workers.
Around 11:20 a.m., Wilson, who gathered shopping carts at the store, returned and headed straight to the second-floor management offices, where he opened fire, prosecutors said.
He struck one employee in the face and chest, before moving on to a second office, where he shot a store manager in the shoulder.
He then fired multiple shots at 49-year-old supervisor Ray Wishropp, who was left mortally wounded in a pool of blood as his killer fled.
Cops launched a massive manhunt and tracked the crazed gunman down at a nearby apartment complex about four hours later, taking him into custody.
Wilson, who had a history of arrests in Maryland dating to 2006, including for gun possession, was also once treated for an unspecified mental illness, prosecutors said when he was arrested.
He went on trial last month and was found guilty on May 3.
Wilson was sentenced Thursday by Acting Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty. He had faced a potential maximum sentence of 90 years to life in prison.
His defense attorney, Brian Carmody, declined to comment.
Additional reporting by Priscilla DeGregory
