A Baldwin man has admitted to murder and weapons charges for a November 2025 shooting outside a Hempstead house party that left a 19-year-old college athlete dead and two other people wounded, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
Jacob McMillan, 18, pleaded guilty June 4 before Judge Helene Gugerty to second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Photo: Amira McCleod
Prosecutors said the shooting happened on Nov. 22, 2025, at approximately 10:50 p.m. outside a home on Willow Avenue in Hempstead.
According to the DA’s Office, McMillan attempted to enter a house party but refused to submit to a pat-down search conducted by a person controlling access to the event.
Instead of leaving, prosecutors said, McMillan pulled out a handgun and fired two shots at the individual attempting to search him.
One victim was struck in the arm while diving behind a vehicle for cover.
Authorities said McMillan then ran south on Kennedy Avenue before turning and firing a final shot as he fled.
That bullet passed through the shoulder of another victim and then struck 19-year-old Amira McCleod of St. Albans in the head.
McCleod, a student-athlete at Monroe University, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The two surviving gunshot victims were transported to local hospitals and treated for their injuries.
Investigators said McMillan hid in a backyard about a block from the party before being picked up around 11 p.m. by a ride-share vehicle. The vehicle dropped him near Coolidge Avenue in Baldwin, adjacent to his home on Wales Avenue.
As part of the investigation, detectives reviewed extensive surveillance footage that allegedly tracked McMillan’s movements before and after the shooting.
According to prosecutors, video showed him leaving a Long Island Rail Road train at the Baldwin station, boarding a Nassau Inter-County Express bus and exiting near Baldwin Road and Homan Boulevard shortly before arriving at the party. Additional footage from a doorbell camera across from the Willow Avenue home also captured the defendant, prosecutors said.
McMillan was arrested in Baldwin on Dec. 2, 2025, by Nassau County Police Department detectives and members of the department’s Bureau of Special Operations.
In announcing the guilty plea, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said McMillan had the opportunity to walk away when he was asked to submit to a pat-down before entering the party.
The defendant is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on Aug. 11, 2026. He is expected to receive a sentence of 20 years to life in prison.
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