A Hempstead man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for a 2023 shooting at a Nautical Mile bar in Freeport that left a young security guard paralyzed from the neck down and injured another bystander, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced.
Tiray Clemmons, 34, was convicted in September after a jury found him guilty of two counts of attempted murder, assault, criminal use of a firearm, and weapons possession. Judge Meryl Berkowitz handed down the 30-year prison term along with five years of post-release supervision.
Prosecutors said the violence unfolded on July 15, 2023, after Clemmons was denied re-entry to Agua on the Mile following a dispute with a manager. Moments later, he returned in a black sedan, stepped out, and fired six rounds from a .357 handgun at the 23-year-old security guard who had barred him from coming back inside. The guard was struck in the back, suffering catastrophic spinal cord injuries that left him permanently paralyzed.
Another bystander was hit twice — once in the neck and once in the scrotum — and required emergency surgery.
DA Donnelly condemned the attack, calling it an act of “wanton violence” driven by anger and retaliation. “Because of his malice and brutality, an innocent man is now cruelly denied the chance to ever hold his three-year-old daughter again,” she said.
Clemmons fled the scene after the shooting and disposed of the firearm in a nearby canal, where Nassau County police divers recovered it four days later. He was arrested the same day by detectives from multiple units, including the Gang Investigations Squad and Freeport Police.
The case was prosecuted by Unit Chief Paula Cajdler of the Firearm Suppression and Intelligence Unit, with oversight from Bureau Chief Nicholas Mauro and Executive Assistant District Attorney Rick Whelan. Clemmons was represented by attorney Randy Zelin.
