Shawn Usher, age 33, was shot to death in a parking lot at the Channel Park residential complex in Long Beach on Friday, April 7.

By Jillian Pikora From Daily Voice

A Long Beach man was convicted of murder for shooting a father six times outside the Channel Park Homes, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced on Wednesday, Aug. 20.

Ronnie Sutton, 52, was found guilty on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, after a jury trial before Judge Robert Schwartz. He was convicted of Murder in the Second Degree, an A-I felony.

Sutton had already been convicted of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a C violent felony, and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a D felony, tied to the same case.

The trial began on Aug. 6, 2025. Jurors deliberated for four and a half hours before returning the verdict. Sutton is due back in court on Oct. 3, 2025, for sentencing, where he faces up to 40 years to life in prison.

“Ronnie Sutton had every opportunity to walk away from an argument he had with Shawn Usher, but instead he chose to escalate the situation into a brutal attack,” DA Donnelly said. “Not only did he shoot Shawn six times, but he also pursued the victim as he tried to run away and then struck him with his weapon twice in the head while he was dying on the ground.”

Sutton and 33-year-old Shawn Usher argued in the Sycamore Court parking lot at about 10:30 p.m. on Friday, April 7, 2023, prosecutors said. Sutton pulled a gun from his jacket and opened fire.

As Usher tried to flee, Sutton chased him and kept shooting until he collapsed, investigators said. Usher, a father of 9-year-old twin boys, was struck five times. Sutton then pistol-whipped him before fleeing on a bicycle.

The victim was transported to Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:30 p.m.

Sutton hid the firearm in bushes near a home on East Market Street. Long Beach police recovered the weapon several days later. He was arrested on April 19, 2023, by Nassau County and Long Beach police.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Tracy Keeton and Bureau Chief Jared Rosenblatt of the Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney Kevin Higgins. Sutton is represented by attorney Gregory Madey.