Judge sentences Floral Park jewelry store robber to 23 years to life in prison

A judge told a Brooklyn man she sentenced Wednesday to 23 years to life in prison for a Floral Park jewelry heist that the victims he held at gunpoint "will be forever changed" by his crime.

A Nassau County Court jury convicted Justice Brunson, 43, of robbery in November — four years after the hold-up at Atelier Jewelers on Woodbine Court.

Jurors found Brunson was one of the two masked gunmen who burst inside the business on a Saturday afternoon, with help from a woman posing as a customer, before escaping with more than $80,000 in valuables.

"I have no doubt that the lives of the victims will be forever changed by your actions," Acting State Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty said while announcing Brunson's punishment.

Store owner Antonio Hurtado also addressed the defendant in a statement prosecutor Michelle Lewisohn read in court.

"You committed the crime and now it is time that you pay the price and go to prison for a long time," it said in part. "...Your criminal ways were obvious during the day of the robbery, which left an indelible experience difficult to forget."

The heist happened at 2 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2017, when Hurtado and two employees were inside the store located steps from the village's main street and its Long Island Rail Road platform.

Former Brooklyn hairdresser Keisha Payton testified during the trial as a cooperating government witness that she visited the store the day before the crime, dropping off a bracelet for repair as a cover while actually being there to help Brunson scope out the business. She said Brunson and their other accomplice came in behind her the next day with guns after she returned to pick up the bracelet and was buzzed inside the store's locked door multiple times.

Brunson and the other robber ordered employees to the floor at gunpoint before taking jewelry and wristwatches, according to prosecutors. But village police arrived quickly after Hurtado was able to hit a panic alarm and they arrested Payton at the scene.

Authorities arrested Brunson in February 2018, the month after nabbing the other gunman, Darkel Davis, 35, of Queens. Before Brunson's trial, Davis pleaded guilty to robbery and a judge gave him 15 years in prison.

Payton pleaded guilty to a felony and a misdemeanor, but court proceedings showed the felony would be dropped and she would serve probation only if prosecutors decided she testified truthfully against Brunson.

"He terrorized those employees," Lewisohn, the prosecutor, said of Brunson while asking the judge Wednesday to give him the maximum sentence of 25 years to life.

During the trial, Lewisohn said Davis while escaping dropped a bag with stolen valuables inside it, and his gloves and mask, and tossed his gun onto the nearby LIRR tracks. She said the items were recovered and he left DNA evidence behind.

Evidence against Brunson included text messages between him and Davis, texts Brunson sent multiple people about a news story detailing Payton's arrest, along with phone records, surveillance video and Payton's testimony, Lewisohn also told jurors.

Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement Wednesday that jurors convicted Brunson "because of the overwhelming evidence in this case, as well as the hard work of our prosecutors and police partners."

Defense attorney Christopher Devane portrayed Payton during the trial as a liar who testified against Brunson to avoid prison, getting her to admit she withheld information from police after her arrest and lied to the grand jury.

The jury deliberated for four days, twice declaring deadlock, before convicting Brunson.

Brunson, who maintains his innocence and claims police planted photos of stolen jewelry on his phone, told the judge Wednesday his rights were violated "numerous times throughout this case."

Devane said after court he would file a notice of appeal for Brunson.

"He feels he is innocent and feels he was wrongly convicted and feels that he'll have his day in court again," he added.