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Carlos Spielfogel-Lopez, age 36, was given his sentence on Wednesday, Sept. 6, months after he had been convicted by a jury for the Hempstead incident, according to the Nassau County District Attorney.
Just before 3 a.m. on November 4, 2018, the DA said that the victim and his friends were coming back to their car parked at Goodyear Tires at 101 North Franklin Street. The group had come from around the corner at El Pacifico Bar.
The victim was in the front passenger seat of the Jeep Cherokee when Spielfogel-Lopez, driving a Dodge Durango, pulled in front of the car so that the friends could not exit the parking space.
Spielfogel-Lopez then got out of his car, opened the victim’s car door, and pointed a loaded gun at his right ear.
Mere seconds after the Elmont resident demanded the victim give him “the stuff,” he fired the gun.
The victim was hit in the right ear, and after being taken to the hospital it was determined that the bullet severed his spinal cord, leaving him quadriplegic.
Spielfogel-Lopez drove away and fled the county immediately after the incident, the DA’s Office said.
He was found in Worcester, Massachusetts later that month, where he was arrested on a different charge and served a three-year sentence.
Upon his release from the Massachusetts prison, Spielfogel-Lopez was arrested by Nassau County detectives.
On May 8, 2023, Spielfogel-Lopez’s trial began.
The jury deliberated for less than a day before issuing the verdict, finding him guilty of:
- Second-degree attempted murder (a violent felony); and
- First-degree assault (a violent felony).
He was acquitted of two additional felony charges.
“Carlos Spielfogel-Lopez pointed a loaded gun at a young man’s head and pulled the trigger, severing the victim’s spine and confining the victim to a wheelchair for the rest of his life,” said DA Anne T. Donnelly.
“...But thanks to great detective work, he was arrested and brought to justice.”
In addition to the 25 years in prison Spielfogel-Lopez was sentenced to, he will be under post-release supervision for five years.
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