MINEOLA, N.Y. — A Hempstead man pleaded guilty to murder and other charges on Monday in connection with the November 2021 killing of a 24-year-old man during an attempted robbery in Uniondale, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Khamari Elie, 20, pleaded guilty before Judge Tammy Robbins to charges including second-degree murder, attempted robbery, and criminal possession of a weapon. Elie is expected to be sentenced to 17 years to life in prison at a hearing scheduled for November 6, 2024. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 20 years to life.
“Khamari Elie’s plea reflects his undeniable role in this violent crime,” said District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly in a statement. “Although he did not pull the trigger himself, this defendant accepted culpability for Kyle Midtlyng’s senseless death when he took part in planning the robbery and got behind the wheel to drive to Alexander Avenue that night where Kyle was fatally shot.”
On the night of November 10, 2021, Elie, along with co-defendants Kyle Colthirst, Tariq Pitaud, and Tyrel Cason Jr., went to 1001 Alexander Avenue in Uniondale to rob Kyle Midtlyng, 24. According to prosecutors, Pitaud lured Midtlyng to the location under the guise of purchasing marijuana. Elie drove the group to the scene, where Colthirst and Cason confronted Midtlyng.
During the robbery attempt, Colthirst entered the front passenger side of Midtlyng’s vehicle and shot him once in the right side, fatally wounding him. Colthirst fled the scene, and police later found Midtlyng lying outside his car. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Evidence, including a shell casing and DNA, tied Colthirst to the crime. GPS data from an electronic monitoring device worn by Colthirst also placed him at the scene during the time of the murder.
Colthirst was convicted of second-degree murder and other charges earlier this year and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in April 2024. Pitaud, 21, of West Babylon, was convicted of attempted robbery and criminal possession of a weapon. He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 1, 2024. The case against Cason Jr., 21, of South Farmingdale, is still pending.
The case is being prosecuted by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, led by Senior Litigation Counsel Tracy Keeton and Homicide Bureau Chief Jared Rosenblatt.
