Ronnie Sutton, 52, of Long Beach, New York, has been convicted of murder for fatally shooting 33-year-old Shawn Usher during a violent confrontation in April 2023. The verdict was delivered on August 19, 2025, after a jury trial before Judge Robert Schwartz. Sutton was found guilty of Murder in the Second Degree and had previously been convicted of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in both the second and third degrees for the same incident.
The trial began on August 6, 2025, and the jury deliberated for just over four hours before finding Sutton guilty. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 3, 2025, and faces a maximum sentence of 40 years to life in prison.
According to Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly, the incident occurred on April 7, 2023, around 10:30 p.m. at the Channel Park Homes in Long Beach. Sutton, riding a bicycle through the Sycamore Court parking lot, passed by Usher, who was standing near his vehicle. A verbal argument escalated quickly when Sutton pulled a gun from his jacket and began shooting at Usher.
As Usher attempted to flee, Sutton chased him, firing a total of six rounds and striking him five times. After the victim fell to the ground, Sutton pistol-whipped him in the head before fleeing the scene on his bicycle. The weapon was later recovered from a bush near a house on E. Market Street by Long Beach police.
Usher was transported by the Long Beach Fire Department to Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:30 p.m. He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, including one that pierced both his lung and heart.
Sutton was arrested on April 19, 2023, following a joint investigation by the Nassau County Police Department and Long Beach Police Department.
District Attorney Donnelly condemned Sutton’s actions, stating that he had multiple opportunities to disengage from the argument but instead chose to commit a brutal, intentional killing. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Tracy Keeton of the Homicide Bureau and Bureau Chief Jared Rosenblatt, under the supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney Kevin Higgins. Sutton is represented by Gregory Madey, Esq.
