Gabriel Wilson sentenced to 50 years to life in 2021 murder of Stop & Shop manager Ray Wishropp in West Hempstead
MINEOLA, N.Y. -- The gunman who killed Ray Wishropp and shot two others at a Long Island supermarket two years ago was sentenced to 50 years to life Thursday.
Whishropp's parents had to bury their son two years ago. On Thursday, it was it's justice day.
The respected Stop & Shop grocery manager was killed amid a barrage of bullets fire by a disgruntled workers within the crowded supermarket.
"If he had changed his mind, I would have had my son and he would have had his freedom," said Rupert Wishropp, the victim's father.
Instead, Stop & Shop shooter Gabriel Wilson will spend 50 years to life behind bars for murder and attempted murder inside the West Hempstead grocery store.
"Wilson went into the Stop & Shop with a loaded gun. He fired it seven times. The carnage only stopped because he ran out of bullets," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.
Wilson was a cart collector who was angry that he hadn't received a transfer to a Hempstead store closer to his home.
His mother declined comment, but hut his lawyer, Brian Carmody, claimed Wilson had the mind of a 12-year-old after suffering traumatic brain injury when he was shot in the head more than a decade ago.
"He doesn't think clearly. He apologized. He doesn't like the situation he is in," Carmody said.
Wilson addressed the family, saying, "It was not my intention to commit the act. I accept the punishment. Ain't no taking it back."
The Wishropp parents moved here from Guyana when Ray was 8 years old. Those who knew him say he lived an exemplary life completely devoted to his family, including his seven children.
His daughter, Valanie, wept as she told the court her dad isn't here to see her graduate this month and head to SUNY Albany.
"You walk into a facility with a gun. Those people are innocent people in there. And you start shooting? Dear God, no. No," Rupert Wishropp said.
The family said justice has been served, but there are no winners.
Stop & Shop issued a statement saying it is the company's hope that the Wishropp family and the two other wounded colleagues, Olivia Leary and Aram Dikici, can find closure in the sentencing, adding the company will continue to honor and support them and their families.