In a tragic incident fueled by a desire for revenge, 32-year-old Jude Saint Clair of Uniondale, New York, was fatally shot on the morning of August 21, 2016. The male victim was intentionally lured to a side street off Nassau Road in his hometown where an ambush awaited him. The events leading to his death began with an earlier altercation involving Saint Clair and the cousin of one of the eventual assailants.
Seeking retaliation for the fight, Jorge Burgess and Joshua Taylor set a fatal trap for Saint Clair. At approximately 10:00 a.m., Burgess gestured for Saint Clair to come over, at which point both men opened fire. A total of eight shots were fired, with three striking Saint Clair in the upper right chest, left shoulder, and a graze wound to his buttocks. Despite being rushed to Nassau University Medical Center, his injuries proved to be fatal.
Following the shooting, an investigation led to the apprehension of the two men responsible. Jorge Burgess was arrested on August 30, 2016, at a casino in Queens. Joshua Taylor, who had fled to Connecticut, was apprehended on September 10, 2016, and subsequently extradited to Nassau County. Both men faced charges for their roles in the crime, with Taylor charged with second-degree murder and Burgess with second-degree manslaughter, in addition to weapons charges for both. Another man, Kadeem Lyle, was also arrested and charged with criminal facilitation and hindering prosecution.
In May 2018, a jury found Joshua Taylor guilty of murder and Jorge Burgess guilty of manslaughter. Taylor was later sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, while Burgess received a sentence of five to 15 years for manslaughter, to be served consecutively with a 15-year sentence for weapons possession. However, in a significant turn of events, an appellate court overturned the convictions in April 2021 and ordered new trials for both Taylor and Burgess. The court cited an error during the jury selection process as the primary reason for the reversal. The ruling also noted that an out-of-court statement from a witness should not have been admitted as evidence in Burgess's case.
