MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that Joshua Mitchell, a 29-year-old Queens resident, was found guilty of multiple charges including assault and grand larceny for an incident that occurred at The Home Depot in Levittown five years ago. The incident resulted in a victim suffering serious and permanent injuries to his wrist.
On May 6, 2025, a jury convicted Mitchell after a trial before Judge Howard Sturim. The charges against him included 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 (a misdemeanor).
The trial lasted several days, and the jury deliberated for less than two hours before reaching a verdict. Mitchell’s sentencing is scheduled for July 10, 2025, where he faces a maximum prison sentence of 26 1/3 to 29 years.
District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly remarked, “What should have been an ordinary day for an employee at The Home Depot turned into years of suffering due to Joshua Mitchell’s reckless actions. People have the right to feel safe in the workplace, not to face life-altering injuries for simply doing their job. I hope this conviction offers some sense of justice to the victim and reinforces the message that such violent behavior will not be tolerated by my office.”
The incident took place on June 17, 2020, around 11:30 a.m., when Mitchell was seen by an asset protection officer at The Home Depot in Levittown. The officer observed Mitchell filling a shopping cart with 91 expensive plumbing items worth $3,321.29 and attempting to leave the store without paying.
When the officer confronted him in the store’s vestibule, Mitchell aggressively shoved the cart at the officer and fled back through the store. He exited through a different door and jumped into a silver Hyundai Elantra with fake Pennsylvania license plates. As Mitchell attempted to escape, a Home Depot employee, a kitchen designer, followed him into the parking lot in an effort to stop him.
In a reckless act, Mitchell drove his car directly at the employee, hitting him and sending him airborne. He then sped off onto Hempstead Turnpike, leaving the victim behind. The victim was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with a fractured wrist and severe injuries, including a broken radius and scaphoid bone, a torn ligament in his wrist, a torn rotator cuff, and a torn labrum in his shoulder.
The victim underwent several surgeries, including the placement of a plate and screws in his wrist, as well as further procedures to address scar tissue and bone spurs. Despite these efforts, the victim was informed that he would never regain motion in his wrist, thumb, or have any grip strength in his hand.
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, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Michael Bushwack and Executive Assistant District Attorney Kevin Higgins.
Mitchell is represented by Alain Massena, Esq.
