MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that Joshua Mitchell, 29, of Queens was sentenced to 22 years in prison for a violent incident at The Home Depot in Levittown in 2020 that left a victim with severe and permanent wrist injuries.
Mitchell was convicted on May 8, 2025, following a jury trial before Judge Howard Sturim on charges including Assault in the First Degree (a B violent felony), Assault in the Second Degree (a D violent felony), Leaving the Scene of an Incident Resulting in Serious Physical Injury (an E felony), Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a D felony), and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the Second Degree (an unclassified misdemeanor).
On sentencing day, Mitchell received 22 years in prison along with five years of post-release supervision. The Nassau County District Attorney’s office had recommended the maximum sentence of 25 years.
“Joshua Mitchell will spend decades in prison not only for theft, but for a violent act that left an employee of The Home Depot with permanent physical damage,” said DA Donnelly. “The victim was only trying to do the right thing, and everyday tasks are now anything but that because of this defendant’s reckless and criminal actions. The sentence handed down today reflects the serious harm this defendant caused, and the consequences of doubling down on a crime.”
According to the DA’s office, on June 17, 2020, at approximately 11:30 a.m., Mitchell was observed by an asset protection officer (APO) at The Home Depot on Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown placing 91 expensive plumbing items into a 54-gallon bin in a shopping cart. The total value of the merchandise was $3,321.29. When confronted by the APO near the exit, Mitchell pushed and shoved the cart into him, abandoned the cart, and fled through the store to a different exit.
Mitchell then entered a silver Hyundai Elantra with fake Pennsylvania license plates and began to drive away. A kitchen designer working at the store followed him to stop him, but Mitchell drove his car toward the victim, striking and launching him into the air before fleeing the scene and driving onto Hempstead Turnpike.
The victim was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured wrist. An orthopedist later determined the victim had a broken radius bone, a broken scaphoid bone, and a torn ligament in his wrist, along with a torn rotator cuff and torn labrum in his shoulder. The victim underwent three surgeries throughout 2020, resulting in permanent loss of motion, thumb movement, and finger grip strength.
Mitchell was arrested on September 24, 2020, at his home in Laurelton, Queens.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Alexander DePalo and Assistant District Attorney James Taglienti of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau, supervised by Bureau Chief Michael Bushwack and Executive Assistant District Attorney Kevin Higgins. Mitchell is represented by attorney Alain Massena, Esq.
