Lawyers in trial clash on what was 'in the heart' of accused Stop & Shop shooter Gabriel Wilson when he fatally shot store manager

An attorney for alleged Stop & Shop gunman Gabriel Wilson agreed with Nassau prosecutors during opening arguments Monday in his trial on second-degree murder charges that the former cart collector fatally shot manager Ray Wishropp and severely injured two other co-workers on April 20, 2021. 

But the arguments made to the jury Nassau Assistant District Attorney Stefanie Palma and defense lawyer Brian Carmody diverged when they described Wilson’s intent on that fateful day, when he allegedly opened fire on Wishropp and four other West Hempstead Stop & Shop employees. 

Carmody told the jurors that Wilson, 33, was indeed the gunman who killed Wishropp and injured co-workers Aram Dikici and Olivia Leary, but urged them to keep an open mind about his clients' intentions. He told the jury that there were two theories about the case — that Wilson intended to kill, or that Wilson intended to injure. 

“You are going to have to make a determination about what was in his heart that day,” Carmody said to the jury in Nassau County Criminal Court during a five-minute opening statement. “It’s not a whodunnit. Gabe fired the shots.”

Palma told the jury that prosecutors will present a tremendous amount of evidence — including eyewitness testimony and surveillance video — that shows Wilson is guilty of fatally shooting the 49-year-old Wishropp and intended to kill others two years ago at the supermarket. 

“The judge will tell you that intent to cause death does not require advance planning,” Palma said. 

Wilson had the day off but he came to the supermarket that April 20 to speak to another manager, Aram Dikici, about transferring to a Stop & Shop store in Hempstead, Palma said. Dikici told him to have the Hempstead manager call him. Wilson left the store and was later seen on video walking toward Hempstead. He then inexplicably reversed course and returned to the West Hempstead store 40 minutes later, she said. 

Wilson is seen in video examining a .380 semiautomatic handgun as he stood outside the second-floor offices of the supermarket, then entered an office and opened fire on Dikici and Olivia Leary, severely injuring both, Palma said. 

Wilson then entered another office, Palma said in her opening argument, and fatally shot Wishropp. Wishropp, of Valley Stream, was 49 and had worked for the supermarket chain for about three decades. He was a father of seven and a new grandfather. 

Wishropp’s family attended Monday’s opening arguments and said they will be present for the duration of the trial. 

His family members gasped in horror several times as Assistant District Attorney Jared Rosenblatt showed the jury photos of Wishropp’s body prone on the floor of the room where he was shot. Rosenblatt had asked Nassau Crime Scene Search Det. Anthony Rempel, who took the photos, to describe the scene at the supermarket when the pictures were displayed to the jury. 

“The past two years, we’ve been trying to heal that wound that we have from losing him, and now its reopened again and you have to hear all these details, but you have to go through this sometimes,” Wishropp’s cousin Alex Bernard said. 

Wishropp’s father said the victim was a “wonderful son.” 

“Someone took him away,” said Rupert Wishropp. “Someone tried to destroy this family. But I believe in the justice system and we will get justice.”

Carmody told the jury that he expected his client — who pleaded not guilty in June 2021 to a nine-count indictment that included second-degree murder, attempted murder and other charges — will be convicted of some crimes. But Wilson could face a reduced sentence if he is convicted of the lower charge of manslaughter rather than second-degree murder, which has a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

Carmody had previously indicated during earlier hearings that he would argue that the deadly shooting was triggered by an extreme emotional disturbance sparked by management’s slow response to Wilson’s request for a job transfer.

He told Acting Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty during an April 6 hearing, however, that he would no longer pursue that defense because it would “open the door” for the jury to hear devastating evidence about Wilson's prior criminal record.

Carmody has said Wilson lost more than a third of his brain after being shot in the head at age 19. The defendant, Carmody has said, is “slow,” has an IQ of 61 and has epilepsy.