Jury selected for murder trial of alleged Stop & Shop shooter Gabriel Wilson in Nassau

Six men and six women were selected for the jury that will determine if Gabriel Wilson, the alleged gunman in the deadly shooting at a West Hempstead Stop & Shop, is guilty of second-degree murder, attempted murder and other charges after his trial begins on Monday.

Wilson, a former cart collector at the supermarket, pleaded not guilty in June 2021 to a nine-count indictment that included assault and weapons charges, two months after he allegedly used a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun to fire at five co-workers during the mass shooting, officials said.

The defendant is facing a maximum sentence of 25 years to life if convicted of the top charge of second-degree murder.

Store manager Ray Wishropp of Valley Stream, a father of seven and a new grandfather, was killed during the April 20, 2021, attack. Wishropp had worked for the supermarket chain for about three decades. A Bay Shore woman and a Bethpage man were also injured during the shooting. 

Eight of the jurors were selected when jury selection began Tuesday, and four more were chosen on Wednesday. Three alternates — a man and two women — were also selected Wednesday. 

Authorities said Wilson opened fire at the Stop & Shop on Cherry Valley Avenue at about 11:19 a.m., when dozens of customers were shopping at the store, police said.

Wilson fled the scene wearing a black baseball cap, black mask and black sweatshirt, police said. After receiving several tips, police tracked down Wilson at an apartment building on Terrace Avenue in Hempstead, about 2 miles from the Stop & Shop. Nassau police officers and SWAT members surrounded the building and captured and arrested Wilson as he tried to escape.

Acting Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty said a prospective juror — who was not selected for the panel — told officials that one of Wilson’s relatives made a threatening gesture to him and other prospective jurors. She urged Wilson’s attorney, Brian Carmody of Garden City, to tell the 33-year-old defendant’s family and friends to refrain from threatening actions when opening arguments are made in Nassau County criminal court.

Carmody declined to comment on the judge’s directive, as did Brendan Brosh, a spokesman for Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. 

Prosecutor Stefanie Palma told prospective jurors that the case would not rely on DNA or other complicated scientific evidence, but instead on accounts from eyewitnesses. A Nassau County police detective testified at a pretrial hearing last year that one of the Stop & Shop workers injured during the shooting identified Wilson as the assailant before police arrested him following an intensive manhunt. 

Carmody had previously indicated he would argue that his client was suffering an extreme emotional disturbance during the shooting after store management failed to act on a request from Wilson for a job transfer. 

But he told Gugerty during an April 6 hearing that he would no longer pursue that defense because it would “open the door” for the jury to hear devastating information about his client. Carmody has said Wilson lost more than a third of his brain after being shot in the head at 19, is “slow” — with an IQ of 61 — and suffers from epilepsy. 

On Wednesday, Carmody said that he would raise questions about what Wilson’s goals were on the day of the shooting — whether he meant to kill his victims, or if he was acting recklessly. Wilson could face a reduced sentence if he is convicted of manslaughter rather than second-degree murder. 

“This really has to do with what his intentions were and whether — for example, he is charged with intentional murder,” Carmody said. 

Wilson disrupted the April 6 hearing repeatedly with verbal outbursts. He remained calm and was mostly silent during Wednesday’s jury selection, only occasionally speaking quietly with his attorney.

Opening arguments in the case are scheduled to begin Monday in Nassau County Court in Mineola.