MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that Thomas Massenburg, a 23-year-old from Brooklyn, was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for the murder of a 21-year-old man during a house party in Massapequa on July 4, 2020.
Massenburg was convicted after a jury trial on September 26, 2024. He was found guilty of Second-Degree Murder (an A-I felony), Attempted Murder in the Second Degree (a B violent felony), First-Degree Assault (a B violent felony), and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C violent felony).
DA Donnelly stated, “The Fourth of July should be a time for joy, but this defendant turned a celebration into a tragic and violent event. His actions resulted in the death of a young man, and today’s sentence ensures he will no longer be a threat to our community.”
On the evening of July 4, 2020, Massenburg, alongside other suspected members of the Mac Baller Bloods gang from Brooklyn, attended a party on West Drive in Massapequa. Tensions escalated when Rashawn Cummings, a friend of another defendant, Learyk Jarvis, arrived at the party, leading to a physical altercation in the basement.
During the fight, Jarvis allegedly waved a gun and demanded that everyone leave. At approximately 11:15 p.m., Massenburg obtained a loaded firearm from Quran Blue, another Mac Baller Blood gang member, and shot Cummings twice—once in the leg and once in the back. He also shot another man in the arm and buttocks. That man survived his injuries.
In the chaos that followed, Jarvis allegedly shot Massenburg in the groin. Cummings was pronounced dead at the scene.
Massenburg then handed the firearm to Blue, who proceeded to fire five more shots outside.
Massenburg was arrested on June 3, 2021, by the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), while Jarvis was taken into custody on June 17, 2021. Jarvis, charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, was sentenced to 3-1/2 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision on April 13, 2023.
Blue, who was arrested on March 3, 2022, for Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, received a sentence of 3-1/2 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision on June 8, 2023.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Stefanie Palma from the Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Jared Rosenblatt and Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Litigation Division Kevin Higgins. Massenburg’s defense attorneys were Sam Karliner Esq. and Mitchell Ellman, Esq. Jarvis was represented by Steven Gaitman, Esq., and Blue was represented by David Adhami, Esq.
