Jury convicts Isiah Cust of lower charge in fatal Roosevelt stabbing

A Nassau County jury convicted a Roosevelt man of second-degree manslaughter Thursday in connection with a deadly stabbing during a fight in front of his home in 2020.

Defendant Isiah Cust, 32, had been standing trial on a count of second-degree murder in the death of Jalil Burton, 27, of East Meadow, before his conviction on the lesser felony charge.

He now is facing a maximum of 5 to 15 years in prison instead of a possible 25 years to life behind bars, his attorney Dennis Lemke told Newsday after the verdict.

“The defendant and his family wish to thank the jury for reaching a very fair and just verdict in this case,” the Mineola attorney added.

A Nassau District Attorney Office's spokesperson said in a statement that Cust "senselessly stabbed a young father and left him to die on a Roosevelt street."

The statement added: "We respect the jury’s decision, and continue to keep Jalil Burton’s family in our thoughts as they attempt to heal from this unimaginable loss."

Cust put forth a self-defense theory and jurors heard from him directly when he testified Monday.

In a dramatic re-enactment, Cust and Lemke took on the roles of Cust and Burton and tried to demonstrate to jurors how Cust said he ended up stabbing Burton on the morning of Oct. 25, 2020.

Cust told jurors Burton punched him and then pulled out a knife after Cust then went toward him. Cust said he slapped the knife away and both men ended up on the ground.

"I was basically just trying to get him off of me. Because I figured if he gets hold of his knife, he's going to kill me," Cust told jurors about their struggle.

Cust admitted during questioning by prosecutor Kirk Sendlein that he stabbed Burton three times, saying it wasn't intentional but he was "ready to fight" because Burton had just punched him.

Cust also testified that when he stabbed Burton with what he said was Burton's knife, Burton was on top of him.

A landscaper across the street captured a lot of the encounter, which included a fracas involving other people, on video, but not the stabbing, testimony showed.

Lemke said Thursday that Burton came to the home of Cust, who was dating the mother of Burton's young son, because he thought his child was inside and in danger based on a phone call he'd gotten.